The Lost Souls of Kallena
by Deku Queen
Summary: Stalkid travels the land in search of a friend and soon finds that a demonic army is spreading a dark curse throughout the land--This is my first story. It's 50 pages + and I'll put up 10 chapters per week or so to give y'all enough time to read it. DON'T
1. Default Chapter

The Lost Souls of Kallena  
  
Introduction  
  
I have seen, heard, and felt the pain and happiness of the past and future ……I have seen the 'Ones' … the ones caught inside the dark halls of destiny itself. The young warriors you are to learn about have walked these dark, eerie halls, and eventually, walked out of the dark, only to find themselves to be the chosen ones ….. The ones who would change the course of history and restore happiness to the land of Kallena. These heroes have felt the pain of lost, and began to fight against a mysterious force called 'The Dark' who strives to cause it ……these heroes fight because of the fear of losing something else dear to them whether it is their own life, the land itself, or someone that is loved by them. A young, enigmatic warrior named Stalkid strives to find his missing friend. A young Deku Queen, simply named DQ, loses her kingdom, and becomes the last surviving Deku due to her deviancy against the evil force called 'The Dark'. A young, optimistic girl, merely named Z.F. looks only for the good in people and is determined to spread happiness. The youngest warrior, Glyde, joins them to not only aid them, but to 'cleanse' his soul and have friends. A mysterious warrior named Dark Star, who comes from the heavens and is disguised as a young traveler, decides to help these warriors instead of doing his original task he was ordered to do. And a half-dragon half-human simply called Dragon Warrior joins the party of heroes to get revenge on the dark army for destroying his homeland. With their combined strength, they destroy evil in the end, and become known as 'The Heroes of the Light'. As they travel, they soon discover the power within them.. Stalkid's determination brings upon his hidden, powerful power ….. DQ's anger calls upon unexpected, and often destructive power that smothers anything in her way ….. Z.F.'s happiness shines light in the darkness and calls upon holy magic to aid her friends, Glyde's past brings a dark force to aid him, Dark Star's strange power to control the sky helps destroy evil in a single wave of his hand…. Though, obviously, they weren't the only heroes on the land, many others existed, but had either fallen prey to the evil force, become apart of the evil force, or they had survived with forever-scarred lives. These heroes thought they have seen evil and pain through their experiences …………………. Its only the beginning for them, for that there is a greater evil that exists.  
  
  
  
Part 1: The Lost Souls  
  
  
***  
  
As the sun gave birth to a new day, a youngster crosses the fields at a slow rate. He had not slept in days for he was determined to find his lost companion. The fields were its usual: green and plain. A nice, calm breeze comes from the north, refreshing and cool. As the wind approached, the youngster inhales deeply to capture the fresh scent. He was originally heading east, but changed his direction towards were the wind had blown. As he headed that way, he soon found himself on a steep hill that over looked the near by town.   
  
Eagerly, the youngster made his way down the steep hill. He thought that it was best to rest after four days of traveling without rest. His presence in the town seemed disturbing to most people, for this youngster was nowhere near human…. A man in overalls approaches him with a face full of disgust. He spits on the ground. The youngster, feeling somewhat uncomfortable, then asks the man, "Is there a problem, mister," The man circled the youngster a couple of times before he finally answered, "Indeed," The youngster swallows. "What's wrong, sir?" The man tilts his head slightly as he walked closer to the youngster as he studied the youngster's face, but in complete disgust. "What do you think you are doing here, creature?" The youngster remained still. The man backs away and puts a toothpick in his mouth and began to chew on it. "We don't allow such-" He pauses as his eyes traveled up and down on the youngster. He then continued, "-such…. Beings here. Leave now. You're a disturbing sight to see."  
  
The youngster looks at himself and then answered, "I don't think I'm very disturbing…" The man impatiently crossed his arms. "We don't accept those who carry war like equipment and have a look of war on them either." The youngster cleared his throat and said, "Um, actually, I' am nothing of the sort. I'm very friendly and peaceful. So, would that mean I can come in?" The man fumed, "Look here, kid, we don't accept anything that comes from outside this very town! Now move it!" Then, almost in a mimicking way, the youngster crosses his arms gives the man a disgusted look. "Look here, MISTER, I haven't slept in days and I expected to be able to rest here for only one, freaking day." The man glares at the youngster. "I don't really care whether you need to rest or not, creature. Either leave town or face the consequences." The youngster sticks his tongue out and says, "I ain't moving. I have come here to rest and I expect to get some rest. I would be more then happy to pa-" Men suddenly surround the youngster and grab him. "H-HEY! LET ME GO! I DID NOTHING!" One of the men snorts. "You failed to listen to the town's rules. That's what you did and it's considered a crime here in the town of Malian." The youngster found himself soon being tied to a stake in the town square. He had a bad feeling of what was to happen. "WHAT THE?! I'M NOT A WITCH OR A CRIMINAL! I JUST CAME HERE FOR SOME REST! PLEASE LET ME GO!"  
  
The men didn't listen, they were preparing the youngster's execution by piling firewood below his feet. The youngster began to think to himself, when it suddenly hit him. He looked at the rope closely and smiled. A man approaches the youngster with a torch in hand. The man then grimly mumbled, "Everyone will surely enjoy this," The youngster grinned and replied, "Sorry to say but-" The youngster jumped out of the ropes. "-YOU GUYS SUCK AT TIEING KNOTS!" The men around him pulled out their swords and dashed at the youngster. The youngster unsheathes his large sword and holds it in a ready position as the men dashed madly at him. He fought each and every one of them with relative ease, pushing back each of them with his sword. Then, by up most surprise, the man from the entrance jumps up from the crowd. "DIE CREATURE!" Almost automatically, the youngster lifts his sword up, pointing at the man with it. He closed his eyes until he felt some weight being put on his sword. The youngster opens his eyes, only to be filled with complete shock. The man was impaled by the youngster's sword. The youngster pushed the man off of his sword and he fell to the ground like a rock. All the men, including the youngster, looked down at the lifeless body, then at his bloody sword. The men turned back at the youngster, scowling at him. The youngster nervously smiles and boosted, "If y'all don't know me, ya better flee. Hear my name and tremble! The name's Stalkid….. See?" The men continued to scowl at him. 'Stupid fool…' Stalkid thought to himself. Moments after that, the men chased Stalkid outside the town back into the field. As he ran through the field (though the men had long stopped chasing him) he found himself fall into a mud puddle face first. 'Why me…?' Stalkid Bitterly thought. He stood up and wiped the mud off of his face and found that most of his belongings had fallen off of him and cleaned his blood-coated sword quickly.   
  
Stalkid sighed as he picked up his belongings that were drenched in thick mud, and the made his way back east. As he walked, his abnormally large sword clanked against his back. As it clanked, he remembered when he first received this sword from his best friend. Memories flashed before him, only to bring him pain. 'You promised you'd be there ….' He thought to himself. He closed his eyes as he walked. 'Why did you have to disappear like that? You said you'd never leave, but now. ……You've gone without me.' A tear rolled down his cheek as he thought more and more about his missing friend, but eventually, he wiped his tear and concluded, 'And I'll find you even if it takes me my whole life.'  
  
As he continued on, he found himself walking towards the swamp. In front of the swamp, was a small town. He then decided to try to enter this town. "Maybe the people here are better then the other town's people?" He quickly made his way towards the small town. Upon his arrival, a woman warmly greets him. "Ah! A forest dweller! Am I right," Stalkid stared at the woman and finally answered, "Well, I used to live in the forest." The woman smiles with complete satisfaction. "Oh I love outsiders so much! Welcome to Noro!" She grabs Stalkid's hand and roughly shakes it. "Would ya like a tour?!" Stalkid walks back, almost frightened of her rather loud kindness. "Actually…" He started, "I'm very tired and I need a place to stay." The woman's smile faded. "Oh…" She pointed towards a building and says, "That's the best place to stay in town. It's nice and affordable." Stalkid smiles and says, "I'm very thankful for your kindness." He began to walk slowly towards the Inn, when he stopped and looked at the woman again. "Tomorrow, if you are up to it, you can give me a tour of the town." The woman's smile returns and yells, "Oh thank you! Because of that, I'll give you the best tour ever given! I'll show you everything!" Stalkid grins and turns back around to face the Inn. After getting his room keys, he quickly ran upstairs to his room. He shuts the door, throws all of his things to the ground, and scrambles into the incredibly soft bed. Soon after, he fell into a deep sleep.   



	2. chapter 2

***  
Stalkid awakened the next morning refreshed and energized. Jumping out of bed, he left his belongs and such and left his room. After enjoying a wonderful breakfast, he walks outside to see the woman from yesterday waiting for him. She quickly walks towards him and said, "You ready?!" Stalkid sighs. "Well, I guess I-" The woman grabbed his arm and runs to their first destination in the town. She then abruptly stops in front of a crowded street. The place appeared to be a market of some sort to Stalkid. He noticed that the way that people dressed here was different then the way the people dressed in the south. As he noted himself on the differences, the woman jumps in front of Stalkid's face and yelled, "THIS IS THE MARKET PLACE! OBVIOUSLY, THIS IS WHERE YOU BUY STUFF! DID YA HEAR ME?! THIS PLACE IS THE BEST!" Stalkid's heart jumped and he remained frozen. The woman dragged him to the other places where Stalkid only found himself being yelled at in the face by a hyperactive tour guide and almost having a heart attack.  
  
At the last stop, the two heard a screech of some sort. The woman jumped, "What was that?!" She turns to see two men towering over a small, creature. Dimly, she says, "Oh…. It's nothing. Lets go." Stalkid, completely ignoring the woman, turns to see the men grabbing a small creature. "What's going on?" He watched as the two men grabbed the hapless creature roughly, but Stalkid couldn't see the creature. "Heh! Who would of known that such a thing exists!? We can make a fortune off of this thing by selling it into labor," One man shouted at the other. "Yeah," The other agreed. The creature struggled to break free of their hold. The creature then shouted in its small voice, "Let me go! I don't wanna be sold into labor," One man laughed. "Ah, quit resistin' shrimp! We're sellin' ya whether you like it or not!" The creature continued to try to break free of the men's hold when Stalkid suddenly gets involved with them. "Hey! Let him go!" Stalkid yelled. The men face Stalkid and laugh. "Well lookie here Bro! A 'hero'!" They both laugh. Stalkid finally was able to see the small creature, which was something he had never seen before in his life. It appeared to be almost plant-like. It had yellowish-orange coloring for its eyes, a strange tube-like mouth that appear to always be open, and brown, tree-like skin. It was incredibly small, so Stalkid assumed that the creature was a young child.  
  
The creature looked at Stalkid with its innocent, sad-looking eyes. "Help me!" It pleaded. Stalkid glared at the men. "Let him go this instant!" The men laughed again. They did nothing but laugh. Slowly, Stalkid's patience grew short and he jumped in front of the men. The men suddenly fall back, releasing the creature. The creature runs behind Stalkid and peeks at the men from behind. The two stunned men then ran off without a word. Stalkid stood there surprised. 'How'd I do that?' He thought. 'I didn't even touch them!' The creature runs into Stalkid's view, looking up at him. "Thank you so much!" It said. "I thought no one would come…." Stalkid stared at the tiny creature. He finally asked, "What are you?" The creature tilts his head. "You've never seen any of my kind?" Stalkid slowly shakes his head and answers, "No." The woman walks up to the two and said. "It's a worthless Deku Scrub." The Deku looked at the woman angrily, "Who are you callin' 'worthless', 'DISGUSTING HUMAN'?!"  
  
The two began to dispute against each other back and forth until the Deku was eventually thrown out of town due to the unnecessary use of vulgar language he used against the woman. Stalkid, who was completely shocked, looked at the woman. "What'd you do that for?!" The woman looked at Stalkid. "Unfortunately, it seems as if you don't know this, but, those-" She pauses for a while and then continues "-DISGUSTING Dekus are not allowed in this town!" Stalkid's mouth slightly opens, astonished. "Even though you may have not known this rule, you are to leave this town immediately." Stalkid then fumed, "What are with people today?! It seems as if the perception that your race uses is horrible! For once, I thought this town was a town without that kind of problem!" He began to make his way towards the Inn to retrieve his belongings. And on his way, he throws his arms up in the air and cries, "WHAT IS THE HUMAN RACE COMING TO?!"  



	3. Chapter 3

***  
  
After exiting the town, the young Deku was awaiting Stalkid's arrival in front of the swamp entrance. "I knew you would come out!" It said. Stalkid walked up to the Deku and asked, "Why don't they allow you inside the town?" The Deku than answered, "Simply because were different, or, well, that's just what I think, yeah." The Deku began to drift away into thinking when Stalkid abruptly said, "Hello?" The Deku jumped and laughed. "Oh, I'm sorry! Heh, me and my thinking." It then looked at Stalkid and asked, "What's your name?" Stalkid, clearing his throat and straightening his posture, answered, "My name is Stalkid." He grinned. "And you?"   
"My name is Jack." The Deku said, bowing afterwards. Though Stalkid was unsure whether Jack was doing this or not, he seemed to smile. "I really 'am thankful for what you've done for me back there in town." Jack walked a little closer towards Stalkid and said, "To show my thankfulness to you, I will take you to MY village in the swamp where you will always be welcome to visit any time! My sister won't mind if you stay! Heck, no one will mind at all if you stay!" Stalkid peered into the swamp. He thought for a while as he stared. 'I can't say no to him.' He thought. He looked down at Jack. Jack stared back at Stalkid with his forever-remaining sad looking eyes, waiting for a positive answer to come about. 'I can't say no… How could anyone say no to someone or something with such sad looking eyes?' He smiled and said, "Ok, ok. I'll come along with you." Jack jumped up and down with child-like joy and beckoned Stalkid to follow him. "Come on Stalkid! Lets get going!"   
  
As they traveled through the swamp, Stalkid's eyes scanned the area. It wasn't exactly what he had expected to see in a swamp. The swamp was lush and beautiful. It was notably teeming with animal life for that every place that Stalkid had set his eyes on, he would be looking at some kind of creature. He then noticed a structure in the distance. It appeared to be some kind of tower. "Curious about that, huh?" Jack said. Stalkid nodded. "Yeah …. What is that?"  
"That's where you can meet the Great Deku Elder. He knows EVERYTHING. You can ask him any question and he'll answer it in a flash!" Stalkid looked at Jack in total disbelief. "Right ….." Jack then retorted, "If ya don't believe me, I'll take you there later on today or tomorrow so you can ask him some questions. He ain't a fake at all! You'll see!" Stalkid rolls his eyes. "Whatever you say…" They continued on without a word. Stalkid was becoming tired for that the walk was longer then expected, though, Jack seemed to still be full of energy and was walking ahead of Stalkid by at least ten feet away.   
  
Suddenly, Jack began to run quickly. Stalkid, who was struggling with sixty pounds of luggage on his back (including his large sword), tries to pick up speed. Holding out his right hand, he wheezed, "Slow down! I can't keep up with ya!" Jack stops and turns around to see Stalkid struggling. "Oops. Sorry!" Jack giggled. When Stalkid had caught up with Jack, Jack then points to a bush and said, "I ran because beyond the shrubbery lies the village itself!" Stalkid dragged his tired feet to the bush and peeked through. "Aw, come on! Walk on!" Jack insisted. Taking his word, Stalkid walked through the thick bush. When he emerged, his mouth hanged open. "Cool view, huh?" Jack said, smiling.  



	4. Chapter 4

***  
  
Stalkid seemed too astonished to answer Jack's simple question. The village that Jack spoke of seemed more like a city to Stalkid. "This is amazing…" He finally said. "And you call this a 'village'?" Jack looked down at the village. "Well, yeah, I guess so. Why do ya ask?"  
"It looks like a city!" Stalkid exclaimed.  
"City? What's a city?"  
"A City is like a town or a village, but ten times bigger… I guess."  
"Ah…"  
They both looked down at the now called city when Jack finally says, "Lets go on down into the …city, or something. Ok ?!" They both then make their way down towards the entrance. As they walked down the hill, Stalkid had missed a step, tripped, and began to roll down the hill. He rolled down the bare hill quickly as he heard Jack yelling something out in the distance. Stalkid finally came to a stop when his body had hit something. Groaning, he rolled on to his back …. And found him self surrounded by spears and other weapons. He looked up at the men who were pointing the weapons at his head. As he had thought, they were all Dekus. They all, seemingly, disapproved the presence of Stalkid. They all seemed to be warriors of some kind since they all wore some kind of armor and had face paint on them. One turned his head and talked to another in a different language. They all laughed. Looking back at Stalkid, one of them finally spoke, "So, what do you think you're doing here, outsider?" Another than says, "You know, we don't allow outsiders like yourself to just enter our territory."  
  
Stalkid gulped. "I-I-I….." Stalkid stuttered. He continued to stutter as he stared at the weapons that were being pointed at him. They all chuckled. One of them stepped closer, keeping his spear pointed at Stalkid's neck. He seemed to be leader of them all since he looked more intimidating, though he also seemed to be a child. His armor seemed to be better and he possibly was more skilled then the others. He wore a white bandana across his forehead and was wearing a white kilt as well. His hair was a shimmering yellow color that seemed to flow gracefully in the wind. Though his hair was actually a nice sight to see, his presence made Stalkid uncomfortable at the moment. The young Deku warrior smiled and said something in his language. "Kaki ta qu neesa?" (translated, "Are you ready to die?") The warrior moved his spear closer to Stalkid's neck until the spear touched it. One of the warriors then said, "Nakta su akan thesa! Sina nog ga!" (Translated, "Don't kill him! You will be punished if you are caught!") The young warrior looked at the warrior. "Sena ku teas nae!" (Translated: "I can do what I please!") The warrior then looked down at Stalkid and smiled. He then said in English, "I 'am going to enjoy this." Before he could jab the spear into his neck, Jack comes running in and he pushes the warrior away from Stalkid. Though, in the process of doing that, Stalkid's neck was slightly scrapped by the sharp spear. "OW!" He yelped. Stalkid scrambled off the ground and stood up, covering his injured neck with his hand.  
  
Furiously, Jack yelled, "WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU DOING ROLLO?! HES MY FRIEND!" Rollo simply continued to smile. "Is that so?" He said. "Well, in case you don't remember, no one is allowed in this very village!" Angrily, Rollo then thrusted his spear in front of Stalkid. Stalkid jumps back and Jack jumps in front of him. "HEY?! Did you hear me?! I said he's my friend and he is welcome to come in!" Rollo scowled at Jack. "You may be of higher power then I-" He started. "--But never will I allow an outsider in this village even if the Queen-" Before he could finish he suddenly fell to the ground with immense force. Stalkid stood there, surprised. He found that a large ball of some sort was thrown at the back of Rollo's head, which had caused him to fall. "What the … ?!" Rollo yelled. Suddenly, someone then said, "I have always wanted to do that to such a defiant warrior such as your self Rollo," Suddenly, one of the warriors turns around and then yelped, "THE QUEEN! SHOW RESPECTS MEN!" Stalkid then tilted his head. 'Queen?' He thought. 'Where?' They all quickly kneeled. Stalkid was then able to get a view of their Queen once the warriors had kneeled. She seemed even taller than the others. She had to be at least four foot eleven. Her hair looked like a jumble of green vines, which was neatly put back in a ponytail with a golden bracelet like object. She wore a red and green robe that looked rather stylish. Like the rest of her kind, she had the yellowish-orange eyes, but they had some kind of character added to them unlike most of the other Dekus had.   
  
She walked towards the fallen Deku warrior and said, "I have had enough of you Rollo! You have been trouble since day one!" Rollo looks up at the Queen, rubbing the back of his head. The Deku Queen then continued, "If you are to receive an order from a person of greater strength, you are to obey that order NO MATTER WHAT! But-" She looked at Rollo as he rises from the ground. She looked at him, disgusted, and continued, "-You seem to have a problem with doing such things." Rollo looked at her silently as she passed by him towards Stalkid. Giving him a more concerned look upon her face, she asked, "Are you alright? Are you injured?" Stalkid moves his hand away from his neck and saw it was covered in blood. "Goodness!" The Queen shouted. Jack then said, "That was part my fault since I pushed Rollo's spear away from Stalkid's neck. It scrapped him." The Queen looked at him. "It's not your fault." She said. "In fact, I'm very proud of you." She pats him on his head. "Hey! Don't do that! You know I hate that!" Jack yelled. The Queen laughed. "Oh, how lucky I 'am to have a brother like yourself!" Again, Stalkid was surprised. 'They are related?' His mind then almost seemed to have jumped. 'Would that then mean he's part of royalty as well ?!' Many thoughts began to rush through his mind, but he kept quiet as the Queen then turned to look at Rollo again. She approached him slowly and the stated, "I have told you countless times that such things such as you're deviancy would cost you your position and trust." Rollo then protested, "No, please my dear Queen! I'll never-" The Queen then pulled off what appeared to be the royal seal from Rollo's armor and had taken his weapon. "You are the reason why the humans are attacking us." She began to walk around him as she continued to speak to him. "Your very existence disgusts every living thing on this very land Rollo. Including myself."   
"But, my Queen…" Rollo whimpered.  
"Silence, Rollo! You whining will not save you this time like it has the other times! No! Not this time!"  
"Please, don't-"  
"Did I say that you could speak?"  
"…No."  
"Then remain silent."  
She stopped in front of the now guilty-feeling warrior. His head drooped. "I wish for you to leave Rollo. You have caused enough problems with our conflict with the humans and you have also caused too many fatalities towards innocent people." Sadly, Rollo then said, "Please, just give me another chance. I only was doing that for the safety of our kind. With what's happening now, how can we judge whether a person is innocent or not? How?" The Queen remained silent. Rollo's head then rised and he made eye contact with her. "Please, I beg you, DQ. I'll never do such a thing again."   
  
The Queen turned her back on the saddened warrior. "Please, this is your friend that's speaking to you." DQ closed her eyes. "Leave now Rollo, or you will be further punished." Rollo's eyes widened with surprise. "As I had said, things such as your deviancy would cost you your position and trust. You have gone too far now and I have lost all of my trust in you I'm afraid." She then pointed her finger up the hill. "Leave now. You no longer are a part of this kingdom what-so-ever." Rollo stood there. His eyes began to quiver, as if he were to cry any moment. Suddenly, he began to yell angrily at the Queen. "Worthless Queen! Your downfall is sure to come! I know it because a weak, female ruler such as your self would never be able to handle the gutless humans! Never!" He than began to walk up the hill quickly. At the top he turned around and yelled, "Your fate is soon to come DQ! And when it all ends for you, it'll be me who's smiling!" After that, Rollo disappeared in to the thick shrubbery. 'I should have listened to the elder earlier on when I first started. If I haven't had allowed him to become a part of my force…' Jack walked up at his sister and asked, "What's wrong? Are you having some regrets of what you have just done?" She nodded. "Well, I'm having some regrets of what I did in the past with Rollo." She then looks down and began thinking to herself again. 'If the Elder said that this event would happen, then…' Stalkid then finally spoke after the long silence he had kept. "You look worried. Are you afraid that Rollo might do something to tear a part your kingdom?"   
"Oh! Excuse me. I've forgotten about you. Now, what was it that you said?" The Queen asked.  
"Are you afraid that Rollo may do something to your kingdom?"  
The Queen was silent for a while and then answered, "I doubt that he would." Jack then threw his arms around him self and began to shiver. "Ooooo, it's getting cool out! Let's go inside where it's nice and warm!" The Queen smiled and replied, "Yes. It is getting chilly out. Lets head back home." Jack then ran ahead of them towards the large structure in the center of the large village. As he ran, the Queen kept her eyes on him until he disappeared into the village. She deeply sighs and looks at Stalkid. "I 'am so afraid of losing him. He's all that I have in my life." She deeply sighs as she looked up at the sky. "I 'am gonna have to tell the elder about this tomorrow." Stalkid began to shiver him self after a while of standing in the cold dark. "I see you are getting cold your self." DQ said, smiling. "Come now. Let me take you to my home."  



	5. Chapter 5

***  
  
As Stalkid and the Deku Queen were walking towards the village, Rollo walked through the dark swamp angrily. "Stupid, worthless, low life. Heh, I don't need you at all." Rollo muttered to himself. He finally stopped walking and sat down on a fallen tree. While sitting there, he thought about all the mistakes he had made in the past. As he thought through the memories, he then angrily got to his feet and continued to walk on. As he walked, he then came across an area where the moonlight was peeking through some bushes. Curiously, he walked through the bushes when he found him self then standing in a very familiar place. He then noticed that this was the spot where he used to come to when DQ and him self were about 5 years old. It was a cliff that overlooked the town and the field. As he stood there, his anger seemed to start to melt away. He then began to think about the times when the Queen was a just a princess. 'Those where the wonderful days' he thought. 'I remember when she used to take me here almost every night. Yeah. Heh, she would go as far as sneaking out of the castle to see me and we would just come here and…let our worries just melt away.' He stood their for a while, looking at the moon. His head then drooped. 'I guess she was right about me… I'm a vile person who just brings trouble.' He then began to take off his armor. 'If only I listened to her, we would have still been the best of friends…but because of my stupidity I just had to do those horrible things.' He threw his armor to the ground.   
  
He then sat down, hugging his legs. A cold gust came along and Rollo began to shiver violently. 'This is strange.' He thought. 'Usually the winds are warmer, but-' His thoughts were interrupted when he suddenly felt someone's presence. He sat there, frozen with fear. "Awfully late for you to be out … isn't young Deku?" Rollo then quickly stood up and turned around to see that the person was a hooded man in black. He couldn't see the profile of the man at all because the hood hid his face completely with a shadow. Rollo remained quiet as he stared up at the hooded man. The man then reached out his hand to Rollo. "You must be lonely here." The man said in a gentle-like manner. "Why don't you come with me? I'm sure that you'll be much happier if you stay with me instead staying here in the swamp where you have made enemies with your former comrades. You'll be much safer if you stay-"  
Rollo then interrupted, "How do you know that?!" The man chuckled. "Well, I guess you can say I watched you and the whole discussion with your … ex-friend." Rollo looked down. "She's no where near an ex-friend now." The man then nodded in agreement. "More like … an enemy? 'Am I correct?" Rollo remained silent. The man folded his arms together and just looked at Rollo. He then said, "You are angry, and yet regretful for what had happened. Yes. That's how you are." He unfolds his arms and reaches his hand out again. "Come with me, young one. I guarantee that you will be much happier and you will forget about everything." Rollo's eyes remained looking at the ground. "…..Or do you prefer something more extreme like….revenge?" Rollo then looked up at the man in a surprised way. The man laughed softly. "Ah…Interested, are you not?" "Revenge…"Rollo whispered to himself. The man nodded. "I know you want to get back at her after what she has done to you. I know that you want to wreak her life as well as she has wreaked yours." Rollo shook his head. "No. I can't do that to her." The man looked down at Rollo. "Its what you must do, or she will surely have her men hunt you down. Heh, she won't let you live I can tell you that." Again Rollo shook his head. "You're lying! You just WANT me to kill her, but I won't! Never!" Rollo turned away from the hooded man. "She may have taken away my happiness, but no matter what … I can't just kill her!" He folded his arms and he stared at the moon. The man then began to chuckle. "Weak minded you are, but I envy you very much." Rollo turns back around and looks at him questionably at the mysterious man. "Envy? What's so great about my self?" The man walked closer to Rollo and began to look at the moon. "Why, there are so many things I could use from you." Rollo jumped. "What are you talking about?" The man looked at Rollo silently. "What are you talking about?" Rollo repeated.   
  
"You have something that is very much desired for, young one. You have a power."   
"What?"  
The man turns away from Rollo and walks back in to the shadows.  
"Join me and my grand army, young one."  
"Army?"  
"Yes. I need you. That's why I have followed you. I need you so I can fulfill my wishes."  
Rollo backed away. "What wishes are you talking about?" The man raises his right fist and answered, "World domination." Rollo's heart had almost jumped out of his chest when he heard this. The man, again, moves out of the shadows, closer to Rollo. "The first that I shall dominate is your people, but do not fear, you will be spared because you are important to me." Rollo looked at the man fearfully. "Who are you?" Rollo asked in a shaky voice. The man began to walk around Rollo slowly as he said, "I 'am the bringer of death and disease. I walk the land to do as I please. I fight to cause sadness and anger. To men, women, and even strangers. I wish to see living flesh die. I wish to see their young cry. It's no use to call any hero-" He takes off the black robe, revealing him self, "-For that I 'am DarkZero." Rollo looked at DarkZero strangely. His face gave Rollo the sense of Death. DarkZero's face was extremely pale, as if he were undead. He had slightly spiked blonde hair and strange icy blue eyes. He also wore gleaming black armor and had two katanas as his weapons, but one of them was short while the other one was extremely long.   
  
DarkZero evilly smiled at Rollo with his arms crossed. Rollo slowly backed away from DarkZero as he approached Rollo. "Get away from me…" Rollo pleaded. DarkZero grabbed Rollo and lifted him into the air. Rollo began to frantically kick and squirm about while he was in DarkZero's cold grip. "No point in resisting." DarkZero whispered. Rollo began to gag as DarkZero's grip tightened. Suddenly, Rollo felt a strange power to surge through him. Slowly, Rollo's mind and thoughts began to twist and turn. Rollo began to scream loudly as he was being overtaken by evil. DarkZero simply smiled as he enjoyed watching Rollo scream in complete pain. DarkZero then slightly tilted his head and whispered, "Your mine…"  



	6. Chapter 6

Back at the Deku village, Stalkid was inside the palace wrapped in a warm blanket, smiling with a feeling of complete satisfaction. He was in the guest room of the palace. The room was decorated mainly with plants, but they were plants that Stalkid had never seen before. The room practically looked like a jungle. The room was filled with the fresh scent of a jungle after a long rain. Besides all of the plants, the room was also decorated with gold. Though the room was magnificent looking, Stalkid's favorite part of the room was the large, golden chandelier on the ceiling. Suddenly, Jack bursts into the room, surprising Stalkid.  
  
"My sister wants to talk to you!" Stalkid then took the blanket off and headed out of the room into the green colored halls. Jack led Stalkid to the library, where DQ was waiting. When Stalkid was about to enter the room, Jack then began to speak. "She said it was very important to talk with you, or something. Usually, if she has to talk with someone, something's bothering her. I have a feeling it's about Rollo, or something. OH I DON'T KNOW! Don't even listen to me! Just go on in!" Stalkid then grins. "You're a funny little guy now aren't you?" He pats Jack on the head. "GEEZ! WILL EVERYONE STOP PATTING ME!?" Jack yelled. Stalkid chuckled as he entered the library, where he immediately sees DQ. Stalkid closes the door behind him and walks towards her. She had a worried look upon her face.  
  
"What's wrong?" He asked DQ.   
"It's about Rollo…." She whispered. "I can't believe what I have just done to him. I… banished my best-friend…"  
"He's your friend? I didn't know that."   
DQ then looked out of the near by window from where she was standing. She sighed deeply and then said, "Do you think he hates me now for what I have done?" Stalkid began to think for a while. "I don't know for sure, but I believe that he still appreciates you in some way, but I'm not quiet sure. I would have to actually have to meet him to know all of that." DQ looks down. "He probably hates my guts." Stalkid shrugged. "That may be true, but he may still like you. You never know." DQ looked back up at Stalkid. "I doubt he likes me anymore." They stood there silently when a Deku warrior then quickly enters the room. "My Queen! A stranger from outside the swamp has asked for you! It's a human!" The Queen turned towards the warrior with a surprised look. "Oh my! This could mean…."   
"What are you going to do?" The warrior asked. DQ then answered, "Go tell the human that I will be there soon."   
"Y-yes my Queen! Um…. What ever you say!" The warrior said. After saying that, he bows and then quickly leaves the room. DQ began to make her way out of the library when she then said, "Why don't you come along Stalkid? I 'am sure that this won't be a violent conversation or anything."  
  
Stalkid agreed to come along with DQ back to the entrance of the village where the people were waiting. When they arrived, they saw a woman with a long staff with a large marble sphere at the end of it. To DQ and Stalkid, she looked rather sinister because of her décor and her facial expression. She was a young looking woman with long white hair and pale skin. Her eyes were a strange purple color that seemed to not gleam at all. She had long black, leather gloves that traveled up to her elbow and a small purple cape. She was wearing a long dress that was also purple and black. The woman reminded Stalkid about the witches that he had heard from the stories his friend had used to tell him. DQ slowly approached the strange looking woman and greeted her. "I presume your self as the Deku Queen, 'am I correct," The woman asked. "Yes I' am. I also go by the name of DQ." The woman threw her hair on to her back. "Is that so? Well, my name is Kalinia."   
"What is it that you need to speak to me about? Did you come the town at the entrance to this swamp?"  
Kalinia slowly shook her head, "I'm afraid not. I hail from the far west."  
"Oh…" DQ said, disappointed. "Well, ah, what has brought you here?"  
"I have come to inform about an up coming event in which you will not be given any mercy."  
DQ looked at Kalinia strangely. "What are you talking about?! What do you mean by 'no mercy'?!" The Kalinia weakly smiled at DQ. "Our grand army, 'The Dark', will crush your kindred. That is if you choose not to cooperate with me."   
"Cooperate?! Cooperate with someone who has just threatened my kingdom?! I think not!"  
The strange woman raised one of her eye brows, "Then, if you wish not to cooperate with me… You are of no use to 'The Dark'." DQ stared at the Kalinia angrily. "Get out of here now before I have you killed. We don't accept people who have come to threaten our kind." Kalinia smiled. "Fine then." She said softly. "Humph, your deviancy will cost you more then your life, Queen."  
"Did you not hear me? I asked for you to leave now or you will be killed." Kalinia began to laugh wickedly. "Kill me? I don't think that would be possible for such a low level race such as yours to be able to defeat me." DQ then fumed, "LEAVE NOW!" Kalinia continued to smile. "So be it then." She turned away and then said, "The end is near young Queen. Resisting my grand army is futile." With that being said, she slowly walked up the hill, into the darkened swamp.   
  
DQ fell to her knees and then began to cry. Stalkid quickly ran to her side and kneeled down next to her. "What should I do?! What should I ever do?! I' am never prepared for such things such as this! I never 'am!" Stalkid just sat there next to the overwhelmed Queen, unsure of what to say to her to halt her crying. "Is there anything that I can do, DQ?" Stalkid asked. DQ looked up at Stalkid, her eyes soaked. "Leave… just get out of here. You have nothing to do with this." Stalkid slowly shook his head in disagreement. "No. I can't leave you. I must stay here and help you."   
"NO! Just go away! I don't want you to get involved." The young Queen wept. Again, Stalkid disagreed with the Queen. "I never leave the side of a person that's in need. I can't leave." The Queen looks up at the brave youngster. "My friend… had told me to never leave the side of someone who needs help. She once told me that if a person never helps another, friendship would never exist and evil would run rampant. You have confronted evil and I' am here to help you with every last breath of life I have to spare for you and your kind."  
  
The Queen's eyes quivered as she looked at Stalkid. "Why? Why are you-" Her crying had stopped her from completing her statement and the warriors gathered around, hoping that their presence would comfort their young, frustrated Queen. Stalkid looked down at the ground and began to think to himself. 'What would my friend do at times like-" Suddenly Stalkid heard a loud shriek come from the swamp. The warriors jumped and readied their weapons.   
  
DQ looked up as well. The warriors looked around themselves in a frightened manner when suddenly, one of the warriors fell to the ground, grasping his chest. "GRAGH! AHHH!" The warrior screamed. The other warriors jumped away from their comrade and watched him spastically squirm on the ground. The warrior then stood up, holding his head. He stumbled about, and continued to scream every so often. The warrior the looked up at the others. His hands fell to his sides and his face became blank. The other warriors looked at the other as he stood there, blankly. The warrior's expression then changed to an angry look and his eyes glew to a bright red color. The warrior then let out a strange sounding shriek and began charging at the other warriors. The warriors, of course, killed him instantly. "What is this?!" DQ cried. They all then heard chanting come from the swamp. The bushes shifted side to side as the chanting grew louder. The chanting then became extremely loud. "Oh no….WARRIORS! NOTIFY THE OTHERS! WE'RE GOING INTO BATTLE!" DQ ordered. "And be sure to bring me my weapon as well!" The warriors gasped. "Do you intend in fighting with us?!" DQ nodded. "I do!" She then shouted, "I'LL SHOW THEM NOT TO MESS WITH MY KINGDOM! NOW HURRY AND NOTIFY THE OTHERS!" The warriors quickly fled and had notified the troops of an on coming enemy by using what they call "The Horn of Bloodshed", which was located in the center of town. The troops, almost immediately, flushed out of the village to where the enraged Queen stood. One of the warriors handed the Queen's weapon to her, which was a long, red, Bladed Staff. Stalkid then unsheathed his powerful sword, ready for battle. They all stood there as the chanting grew louder and louder. Then, they saw the army walk through the shrubbery from all direction, chanting. The army seemed to have consisted of many races, some were familiar while the others were not. DarkZero walked in front of them, smirking. DQ then saw someone rather familiar. When she had realized whom that familiar person was, and gasped, "ROLLO?!"   



	7. Chapter 7

***  
  
He was walking along side with DarkZero, smirking as well. The army then stopped chanting and halted their movement, but DarkZero and Rollo continued to walk closer towards the surprised Queen and her troops. "Hmmm, looks like you chose death as I had thought you would." DarkZero chuckled. DQ stood there quietly, staring at Rollo in complete astonishment. She then cautiously walked closer to him. Rollo, though, had kept the same expression on his face as he stared back at DQ. "Rollo … What are you doing…?" Rollo remained quiet. DarkZero's smirk then became a wide grin. "Try as you might-" He began. "-No matter what, he won't come back to you….he's mine…like the rest of my army."  
"He would never join you and your army…he's not like you!" Rollo laughed. "You are wrong, as always, imprudent Queen…"  
"Rollo…Why-" Rollo lifted his hand up to halt her speaking. "It was pure, sweet destiny for me to become a part of this glorious army DQ. Pure…sweet…DESTINY. You must understand DQ." DQ stared at Rollo silently. Rollo then continued to speak. "I was destined to become a part of this army and achieve its holy goal."  
"Holy goal? What are you talking about?"  
"We, 'The Dark', shall rid the world of the plague…. or, should I say, rid the world of the 'Imperfect Beings'?"  
The Queen gasped. "You call that a 'Holy Goal'?! It's more like a goal to world domination!"  
Rollo smiled, "I guess you can say that's what it is."  
"What has happened to you Rollo? This isn't you…. You would never do such an evil act… At least the real you wouldn't…"  
"This is my true self DQ. You have locked my true self by replacing my self with that… Other weak- minded fool that you considered to be his friend. DarkZero, though, has freed me from that imprisonment." DQ then retorted, "HE HASN'T FREED YOU! HE HAS ENSLAVED YOU ROLLO!" Rollo crossed his arms. "Think what ever you want to think-" He then glares at her, "-You'll be dead before you know it … foolish Queen." The Troops behind DarkZero and Rollo raised their weapons. DarkZero smiled and he commanded his army, "Attack … and fulfill our dream of ridding the world of the lowly ones!"  



	8. Chapter 8

***  
  
The army then rushed at the Queen and her Troops. Then, without ordering her own to attack, they rushed in as well and began to fight. Stalkid, who was looking over the crowd, stared at DarkZero. DarkZero's eyes met with Stalkid's and he grinned evilly at him. Before Stalkid knew it, he was face to face with this figure of evil. DarkZero then draws his two Katanas and said, "You will die like the others shall…" With this being said, Stalkid held his powerful sword into a fighting ready position. "It will be you who dies first." Stalkid said. The two then engage with each other. With his heavy, massive sword, Stalkid attempted to slice the evil commander into two. DarkZero then swiftly dodges Stalkid's attack and swiftly swipes Stalkid's arm with one of his Katanas. "Argh!" Stalkid groaned. Angrily, he attempts to attack DarkZero again. This time, DarkZero raised his two Katanas and blocked Stalkid's attack. DarkZero struggled to keep the heavy sword from falling on to him and pushed up while Stalkid forcefully pushed down on his weapon.  
  
Meanwhile, DQ was face-to-face with Rollo. Holding her Bladed Staff, she glared at her friend who has been enslaved to evil. Rollo unsheathes his sword. "I shall find this rather amusing to be fighting a foolish Queen who actually believes that she can save her kingdom by fighting in a battle that she could not possibly win." Rollo narrowed his eyes. "It'll be over before you know it." The two stood there silently until DQ swung her weapon at Rollo. Quickly, he dodged the attack and swung his sword down at her. She blocked the attack by lifting her staff below where the sword was coming down. She pushed Rollo away and she swipes at him again, this time injuring his chest. He grunted and then swung his sword at her, only to fail to hit DQ. He placed his arm over his wound and grinned. "Not bad for a low-level being." He commented. "But that doesn't mean you will necessarily win this fight because you have 'some' skill to fight." The queen then pleaded, "Please Rollo. I don't want to fight you …" "But fight you must. Otherwise, I shall kill you quickly." DQ deeply sighed and raised her weapon. "Then let us battle." She muttered.  
  
Stalkid and DarkZero were still struggling against each other as Stalkid pushed down on his large sword while DarkZero resisted Stalkid's efforts. Finally, DarkZero pushes Stalkid away and takes a swing at Stalkid, but misses him by inches. They both stared at each other, breathing hard. DarkZero then smiles again. "You are better then I thought…." Stalkid stood their, glaring at the black armored man. "Who would have known that a creature like yourself would possess such skill? Heh, if you fought like my previous challengers, you would have been dead by now, but you aren't dead, which I find to be very impressive." DarkZero then straightens his posture. "Why don't we just stop fighting each other and you just join us? Fighting me is a waste because eventually you will be killed. Plus, this battle that these creatures are fighting-" He spreads his arms out. "-They cannot win! They will all die. You will die as well if you don't join us too." Stalkid shakes his head. "I'll never join such a demonic group of people! Never!" Stalkid raises his sword again. "I'd rather battle you to the bitter end." DarkZero raises his two Katanas and grins. "You would be such a wonderful asset to 'The Dark', but you choose to stay with the weak, low-class people." He then raises his long Katana, pointing it at Stalkid. "If death is your wish, I shall grant it to you."  
  
"HA!" Rollo shouted as his sword came down on the Queen. Though the Queen had dodged, her shoulder was scrapped by Rollo's sword. She cried in pain as she jumped back from Rollo. He chuckled in complete amusement. She looked at Rollo as she covered her fresh wound on her shoulder. Rollo simply smiled back at her. "Why Rollo? Why did this have to happen to you?" Rollo remained quiet as she whimpered in pain over her shoulder. She then, with her injured arm, grabbed her Bladed Staff. Unexpectedly, Rollo charged at her. DQ then raised her staff and blocks Rollo's forceful attack. She then jabs Rollo in the face, stunning him. She then lunges the staff at Rollo. She froze once she had realized what she had done. Rollo remained frozen as well. His eyes were filled with surprise as he looked at his chest. DQ began to breathe in a frightened way. She then slowly pulls the Bladed Staff away, to find that the blade was covered in blood.  
  
Rollo stumbled back in to a tree. Blood painted the tree as he slid down to the ground. He coughed a couple of times and blood dripped out from his mouth. He began to wheeze as he breathed hard. DQ covered her mouth. "Rollo, I-I didn't mean to…." Rollo looked around himself, partially confused. He then looked down at his wound and the coughed some more. Rollo then looked at DQ weakly and whispered, "What…. happened? All I remember was that man holding me…. up in the air. I felt so much in pain…. then I black out and then-" He stopped speaking as he quickly put his arm over his wound and groaned in pain. "I feel it coming DQ…. I can't make it…. I know I won't live…." DQ swiftly shakes her head. "No! Don't say that! You will live! You will live…." Rollo shakes his head slowly in total disagreement. "Please Rollo…. Don't die on me…." Rollo turns his head to the right to see Stalkid fighting DarkZero viciously. Rollo weakly lifted his arm and pointed at DarkZero. "Him…. I saw him in the swamp." DQ looked up at the two fighting in the distance. She than said, "He is the one who enslaved you…." She looked down at Rollo. "DQ…. Soon I will die…but…. I will not sleep peacefully until that man… is killed. Nor will the other souls that he has claimed will ever rest… I beg you DQ…" He raised his right hand to her, "Kill the evil man. I know you can do it…you've always had something in you that I have always felt…. Please…" DQ took a step back away from Rollo, "Please Rollo don't'…." With his last words, he said, "I know…. You can … do this DQ…Crush them…with your anger…and avenge…my death…I know I can count on…you because-" He began to shake as he clinged on to his life. He then forcefully whispered, "You… hold the essence…. Of the-" He couldn't finish his last words and his head began to sway. Finally, his head then drops to the side. DQ stared at Rollo. "Rollo?" No response. "Rollo?" She repeated, but her voice quivered. DQ then dropped her staff and ran towards Rollo's lifeless body. She then slowly kneeled next to him and nudges him. After a few nudges, she then presumed, "He's dead." She then repeated this statement over and over until she eventually began to cry. She then buried her eyes into Rollo's chest and wrapped her arms around her now dead friend.  
  
The battle between Stalkid and DarkZero raged on as they swiped at each other continuously. They both were injured badly from each others devastating attacks and began to breathe heavily as they glared at each other. DarkZero seemed to still be smiling despite the injuries he had all over himself. "This is…. VERY interesting." He stated. "You haven't died yet. I find this to be very amusing for me to have a competitor such as yourself that just won't give up."  
"Be quiet for once! You never seem to stop talking!"  
DarkZero chuckled as he wiped some blood off of his arm that oozed out of a large cut. "Why don't we just end this and you join me? Don't be foolish. You cannot possibly win at all no matter how hard you try." There was a long pause. Stalkid then finally answered, "I have told you this a thousand times ….. I WILL NEVER JOIN AN ARMY OF DEMONS! I would choose death then to join you!" DarkZero raised his weapons as well as Stalkid raised his. "I have given you so many chances, but you've rejected them all." He narrows his eyes. "Then you are of no use." Stalkid rushed at the pale skinned man with his sword above his head furiously. DarkZero then quickly rushed to his right before he could be cut in half by the large, heavy sword. "Tsk, tsk. You try too hard to hit me with that massive, yet worthless weapon. A common low-level creature trait." Stalkid then shouted, "WHY DON'T YOU JUST SHUT YOUR MOUTH AND FIGHT!?"   
  
DQ continued to cry as the two fought in the distance. She then finally raised her head up and looked around her. About half of her kingdom was engulfed in flames. She could hear the cries of pain from her men as well as from DarkZero's men. Rollo's last words echoed though her mind as she stared at the fiery surroundings. She then looked back down at Rollo and slowly got up. She began to envision DarkZero's grim, grinning face. Her heart began to pound quickly in her chest as her anger grew. "DarkZero…" She whispered. She turned and looked at him as he fought Stalkid. DarkZero fought Stalkid with extreme pleasure of it all as Stalkid became injured. DQ clasped her fists and an angry expression formed about her face. She grabs her bladed staff and quickly walked towards DarkZero.  
  
DarkZero laughed evilly as Stalkid fell to his knees. Stalkid felt extreme weakness all over his body and looked up at DarkZero helplessly. "Only a proper death will do for a good competitor like yourself….. a nice slow one shall do." DarkZero lifted his sword, getting ready to stab Stalkid in the shoulder. Suddenly, DQ rushes in and knocked DarkZero's blade out of his hand and yelled, "YOU WILL PAY FOR WHAT YOU HAVE DONE YOU DEVILISH FIEND!" Ferociously, she lunged at DarkZero, attempting to kill him by impaling him. He quickly hits the blade away from hit and stumbles to the ground doing so. DQ forcefully jams her Bladed Staff into DarkZero's shoulder and he screams in pain. "HOW DO YOU LIKE IT?! HOW DO YOU LIKE FEELING PAIN?!" DQ screamed manically. DarkZero kicks DQ off of him. He then pulls the Bladed Staff from his shoulder, screaming in process of extracting it. After pulling it out, he threw it to the side and struggled to get up. He only found DQ to pounce on top of him again with a knife in hand. "DIE!" She yelled as she thrusted the knife at his face. DarkZero swiftly grabs DQ's hand and struggled to keep the knife from going through his forehead. He was amazed to see that a Deku possessed such strength to cause him to struggle to keep a knife from coming down on him.  
  
Stalkid slowly got up from the ground and dragged his large sword behind him as he walked towards DarkZero. He then stopped and looked up in the air and gasped. He saw the wicked women that he saw earlier that day. "Kalinia!" He gasped. From her staff, a bright ball of purple energy knocks Stalkid on to his back, knocking him out. She then looks down at DQ and DarkZero. She then sneers and whispers, "Pitiful DarkZero… struggling against a low-level creature." She looks at the burnt kingdom and found her army standing together in a clearing. She smirks. "Well done." She whispers. She then looks back down at her weakened warrior and the enraged Queen. "Heh, I think we have had enough fun now, dear Queen…. I'm afraid that I be taking DarkZero with me." DQ looks up at Kalinia, still pushing down on her weapon. Kalinia's eyes then glew a yellow color and she smiled. "Of course-" She started, "-You WILL need to get off of him." Before DQ could even move, she was lifted into the air. "What the--?" The surprised queen stated while she was in mid air. "Worthless creature… How dare the Gods let such a feeble race like yours to roam the planet!" Energy began to emit from the wicked woman's body. "But we, 'The Dark', have corrected the Gods mistakes by simply eliminating the low-leveled ones. Your race is a good example of a low-level race. Worthless, weak, and unintelligent." At this point, DQ then raged. "UNINTELLIGENT?! MY RACE IS CERTAINLY NOT STUPID!" She attempted to move towards Kalinia, but soon found that she couldn't move. Kalinia wickedly laughed. She then raised her arm up. "Once I have eradicated you, the Deku race will be nothing but mere legend." Her hand began to glow. "Farewell, weakling." Before Kalinia could harm DQ, an arrow flew out from the bushes and struck the sorceress in her up-rised hand. "Argh!" She groaned as she gasped her hand. Almost immediately, DQ fell from the air and roughly lands on the ground. She weakly groans and looks around for the sharpshooter that had saved her life. As she slowly moved her head around, she heard someone's voice echo through the area, saying, "Why don't cha pick on someone your own size witch?!" Kalinia looked up and saw the person standing in the dense bushes to her right. Slightly bearing her teeth, she then yelled, "You may have stopped me from killing a worthless being, but that doesn't mean that I will not stop destroying them!" She floats down to DarkZero and lifts him in to the air. Green energy then swirled around them and soon it became a portal. "This isn't the end you worthless beings!" With that said, Kalinia, DarkZero, and her troops disappeared. Stalkid had remained on the ground, unconscious, while DQ was on the verge of passing out as well. Her vision began to blur as the person walked over to her. He was saying something, but his voice was muffled and inaudible to DQ. She groans a couple of times and her head then drops to the ground.  
  



	9. Chapter 9

***  
  
"Yello," The brown haired, caped kid chimed as he looked at Stalkid, who was still in bed sleeping. The kid sighed impatiently and he turns to look at DQ, who was also still in bed sleeping. "Yelllllllo!" The kid chimed again, but still had no luck. Again he sighed impatiently. He looks about the room and he finds his old fishing rod in the corner of the room. He didn't really think of it as a fishing rod anymore though since the thread was gone and it just looked like an ordinary stick. He walked over to the corner, picks up the stick, walks to Stalkid's side, and began to poke him with the stick. He then began to yell, "WAKE UP! WAKE UP! WAKE UP!" continuously, hoping that this would awaken Stalkid. He stopped poking him, sighed, turned to DQ, and started to poke her. Instead of yelling, he leaned forward and began whispering gibberish into her ear. Though DQ didn't wake up, she flung her fist into the kid's face, causing him to stumble back. He puts his hand over his face. "EOWCHI!" He screamed. He looks at DQ and asked, "You awake yet?" She snored in response. The kid pulls his head back and said, "Guess not…" He stands up and looks around the room for other things that might help him wake up the two. He then stared at the vase on the table in the other room through the open door. He noticed that the vase was full of water (and only water). He smiled and he quickly ran to the vase and brought it into the room.  
  
Before he did anything, he yelled, "I GOT SOME COLD WATER! I KNOW YOU TWO DON'T LIKE IT IF WATER IS ALL OVER YA!" He looked at the two. They were still a sleep. He smiled and approached Stalkid first. He tipped the vase, allowing some of the cold water to spill on Stalkid. Frantically, Stalkid screeched and waved his arms about the place. The kid's smile grew larger. "GOOD MORNING!" He chimed. "How was your rest?" Stalkid looked around him and then at the kid. "Who are you and where am I? AND WHY THE HECK DID YOU POUR COLD WATER ON ME?!" The kid stretched with the vase still in hand. "I won't tell ya yet! I gotta wake the little…. um…. thing there." Stalkid looked past the man, looking at DQ. The kid turned around and prepared to spill the remaining amount of cold water on DQ. "Um, I don't think that'll work on her." Stalkid said. The kid looked over his shoulder at Stalkid, "Why do you think it won't?"  
  
"It's just-" the kid had started pouring the water on DQ before Stalkid could finish his statement. The kid jumped back, but only saw that DQ did nothing but murmur something in her sleep. Stalkid crossed his arms. "She's a plant. Water won't wake her up." The kid turned around and then asked, "Then what will?" Before Stalkid could answer, Jack stormed into the room and began to jump on the bed that DQ was sleeping on. "THIS WILL!" He yelled delightfully as he bounced up and down on the bed. DQ's eyes swung open and she began to scream loudly. "GET AWAY! GET AWAY MONSTER!" Jack jumped off the bed and looked at her strangely. "Who are you callin' a monster?!" His voice squeaked. DQ didn't even answer his question; she just lied there in bed, violently shivering. "Get away…. Get away….." Her voice quivered. The kid looked at Stalkid. "What's with her?" Stalkid shrugged and walked closer towards DQ. "Um, DQ? You ok?" DQ looked at Stalkid, shivering still. "Are…are we dead yet?" She asked, her voice still quivering. Stalkid slowly shook his head. "We're far from death DQ."  
  
Jack walked closer to his frightened sister. DQ turned her head, realizing that Jack was at her side. She quickly sat up and threw her arms around him. "YOUR ALIVE!" She cried. Jack began to squirm. "Hey, hey! Take it easy sis'!" DQ then releases him and a tear rolled down her cheek. "I thought they got to you…. But you are still alive!" Jack nodded. "I did exactly what you told me to do if we were ever being attacked by something or someone. I ran out as soon as possible to the nearest safe place… Which is this place here!" DQ weakly smiled and stood up. She immediately grabbed her injured shoulder and moaned. "Don't worry about the wound there. I treated it." The kid said, smiling proudly. "T-thanks." DQ murmured. Jack then finally asked, "So, how's the village and everyone else?" DQ froze and remained silent. Jack stared at his sister questionably, waiting for an answer to come out. Jack slowly walked closer to DQ and tilted his head to the right. She then looked down and a tear rolled down her cheek. "What happened DQ?" Jack said in a quivering voice. DQ sadly looked back up at Jack and answered, "The village is gone…" Jack stood still and seemed as if he had stopped breathing after hearing this. DQ looked back down. "Everyone, except us, is dead…" Jack's eyes then began to quiver and tried his best to hold in his tears. DQ slowly opened her arms and brought Jack closer to her and allowed Jack to cry on her shoulder.  
  
DQ whispered silently to Jack to comfort him as he mourned. The kid tapped on Stalkid's shoulder and suggested, "Maybe we should leave 'em alone for a while…" Stalkid nods in agreement and the kid quickly left the room first. Stalkid stared at the two as they held on to each other tightly. He thought about his friend for that second. 'Where are you?' He thought. 'Why can't we be together again?' Stalkid lets out a deep sigh and walks out the room, closing the door behind him silently. He made his way towards the kid, who was leaning up against the wall. The kid slightly smiled, hoping that he would see Stalkid do the same thing in return. Instead, Stalkid gave the kid a bitter, mean look and he sat down in one of the old wooden chairs. He rested his arms on his legs and looked down at the dirty wooden floor. The kid pulled up a chair next to Stalkid and sat down.  
  
The kid's heels jumped about as he nervously looked around himself, occasionally glancing at Stalkid. The two remained silent. The kid began to hum to him self loudly, uncertain that his humming bothered Stalkid immensely. Stalkid closed his eyes, trying his best to ignore the kid's humming. The kid finally stopped humming and asked, "What's your name?" Stalkid impatiently sighed and answered, "Stalkid." The kid nodded and then said, "Well, my name's Glyde." Stalkid snorted and murmured, "Nice to meet you…" Glyde looked at Stalkid oddly and asked, "Why you got such an attitude all the sudden?" Stalkid remained silent and stared at the ground. The kid sneered and said, "Geez, I'm just trying to be nice to you and all by smiling at ya and all I got was a mean look from you. Now you won't answer a simple question. Heh! Well, isn't you nicest person in the world?!" Stalkid sighed and said, "I'm sorry Glyde, and it's just that a lot of bad things have happened in the past." Glyde crossed his arms and said, "Well don't take out anger towards everyone else. The last thing that people want to see or hear is a person who acts like you." Stalkid jumped up and glared at Glyde angrily. Glyde threw his arms up to shield himself from possible blows to the face and screamed, "HEY, HEY! I-I didn't for that statement to come out that way! What I meant to say is that people don't like other people who take out there anger on everyone else!" Stalkid narrowed his eyes and slowly sat back down, keeping his eyes on the caped kid. Glyde nervously laughed and said, "S-sorry 'bout that. I always say stuff that's almost the opposite of what I really mean! Heh, heh." Stalkid kept glaring at Glyde. Glyde nervously looked away from Stalkid and scratched the back of his head and said, "I'm really, REALLY sorry man. I didn't mean to say that and get you pissed off and all." Stalkid turned his head and looked in front of himself silently. Glyde then added, "Just don't hold a grudge on me now. I didn't mean to-" Stalkid then interrupted, "I got the point now Glyde so stop talking." Glyde looked down and continued to talk, "Why do people tell me to shut up when I'm saying something that I mean? Sheese, people these days are mean… Don't you agree with me? Yeah, they are very mean an' nasty an' all nowadays, telling me to keep quiet and mind my own business. I'm not nosy, I'll tell you that! I keep quiet and don't ask people questions about their life an' all. How are you anyways Stalkid? Oh, never mind, forget that I asked…Anyways, I'm not a nosy person or anything. Nope. Not at all…. HEY! You know what makes me happy when I'm sad Stalkid?! I sing ta myself! Hehe, It works too! Maybe you should try it since you seem sad. Say, what makes you happy Stalkid?" Stalkid slowly turns his head and looks at Glyde. He lifted his fist up and said, "A fist in your face would make me happier than jolly ol' Saint Nick right now because I know it'll shut you up." DQ then walks out the room and silently closes the door. She then walked into the room where the two sat and pulled up a chair next to Glyde. 'Maybe DQ or whatever will talk to me?' Glyde thought as he looked at her.   
  
He warmly smiles and said, "Hello!" DQ fleetingly smiled back and responded, "Hi." Glyde's smile grew wider. 'Good. I'm getting good signals so far!' He leaned forward and asked, "I'm curious about you." DQ looks at Glyde strangely and asked, "Why?" Glyde slightly tilts his head and asked, "What are you?" DQ then responded, "A Deku."  
"What's a Deku?"  
"I guess you can say we are like plant people."  
"You're a plant?"  
"Yeah."   
"Really?"  
"Really."  
"Wow. I can't believe I'm actually talking to a plant!"  
'And I can't believe I'm talking to such a loser.' Thought DQ.  
"What do you do?"  
"A lot of things…"  
"Would like to know."  
"Too many things to tell you."  
"Aw, please tell me."  
"Maybe later."  
"Tell me NOW."  
"No."  
"Yes."  
DQ looks at Glyde sternly and says, "No." Glyde then said, "Yes." The two continued to argue with each other until DQ finally concluded, "WHEN I SAY NO I MEAN IT!" A punch to Glyde's face soon followed after that statement and Glyde fell to the ground, dazed. DQ puts her hands over her mouth and gasped, "Oh my! I-I didn't mean to hit you!" Stalkid snorted and said, " 'Bout time someone hit him, otherwise I would have killed him if he didn't shut up." DQ quickly got up and kneeled down by Glyde and asked, "Are you ok?" Glyde smiled and said, "That's hit number two from you." DQ pulled her head pack and said, "What?" Glyde slowly sat up and said, "Oh never mind." DQ then stood up and said, "Ok… Are you sure your ok?" Glyde nodded. "Yeah I'm fine. I'm actually getting used to that though." Stalkid looked at Glyde. "You mean you were hit in the past too?" Glyde nodded. Stalkid laughed. "I don't blame those poor people for hitting you! You just don't shut up when you are asked to do so! Tell me, what do you get hit by most of the time: boys or girls?" Glyde answered, "Girls." Stalkid continued to laugh hysterically while DQ and Glyde blankly stared at him. "Oh, be quiet Stalkid. It truly isn't funny. Besides, my brother is sleeping and I don't want him disturbed in any way." DQ said. "Yeah!" Glyde yelled. "Be quiet or her bratty brother will wake up!" DQ then screamed, "BRATTY?!" Glyde's eyes grew wide and yelled, "OOPS! I-I-I DIDN'T MEAN TO-"   
"NOW YOU DESERVE THIS!" DQ screeched.  



	10. Chapter 10

***  
  
The forest outside the house was silent, but the inside of the house was a battleground for six hours straight until it finally came to an end when Jack suggested DQ to stop injuring Glyde. Not too far away from the small cottage was a wondering teenaged girl walking somewhere in the forest. She looked up at the now somewhat darkened sky and sighed. She continued to walk on and ran her fingers through her purple hair. A sudden cold gust of air came along, causing her to shiver violently. She wrapped her light purple cape around her to keep her warm, but barely did it work well. Her teeth chatter and she continued to silently walk on through the forest. She constantly looked around herself, hoping to find a house near by. She began to think about her parents and remembered when they told her that she was far too young to travel by herself and try to master the art of magic without help. 'Too young,' she bitterly thought. 'I can take care of myself without you two. I'm old enough.'  
  
More and more cold gusts came along as she forcefully walked on through the darkened forest. She felt completely numb and hungry. "There has to be a house somewhere out here…" She whispered to herself. By coincidence, she spotted a small cottage in a clearing. She joyfully smiled and ran towards the house. "Finally!" She gasped. "A house!" She then noticed that someone was outside sitting on a chair as well. This had risen her joy and she whispered, "LIFE!" She hurried towards the cottage as fast as she could run, though it seemed that the cottage was farther than it appeared to be. 'Keep going…' She thought as she looked at her legs. 'GO!'  
  
Glyde sat outside the cottage with ice packs strapped around him on the places where he was ruthlessly hit by DQ. "Geez….ouch…. Who would of known that a plant could hurt someone this much? Gosh, she stronger then she looks…" He rubbed the back of his head and placed an ice bag there as well. He sighed as he looked up at the star filled sky. As he stared, he smiled and looked at two blight, flickering stars. He then heard his mother's voice echo in his mind, 'That's your father waving at us from heaven Glyde. Some day Glyde, I will be with him too when I pass away…..' Glyde then heard his own voice say, 'But, won't I be alone if you die like daddy did?' His mother's voice then echoed, 'You will never be alone Glyde. We are always surrounded by spirits both and good and bad. But you, Glyde, you will always be surrounded by good spirits.' A tear trickled down Glyde's face and he sniffled. "I miss you both." He whispered. He sniffled again and took a deep breath. "It's all my fault…" He continued to gaze at the limitless space and think of his parents as he stared.   
In the distance, he heard someone call out, "HEY! ARE YOU A WAKE?!" He quickly turns his head towards where he heard the voice come from. He saw a girl running quickly towards the cottage with her cape wrapped around her. Glyde wiped his tears away and stood up to greet the teenaged girl with his usual warm smile. When she finally reached the cottage, she asked, "Is this you house?" She was breathing heavily and looked exhausted from the run. Glyde smiled and said, "Yeah, you can go on in…" The purpled haired girl brightly smiled and threw her arms around the youngster. "THANK YOU!" She gasped. She released Glyde and quickly made her way inside the warm cottage. Glyde was about to make his way into the house, but the sky seemed to have caught him in a daze. He stared up at the two flickering stars silently. As he stood there, he saw that all the stars had then mysteriously disappeared from sight. His mouth slightly opens at that moment and backs away. " What the…?" Suddenly, a cold gust comes along. Through that gust, he could have sworn he heard whispers from the gust itself. "Run…. Demon…." The wind whispered. He violently shivered in total fright. Soon, the cold air had past and the grass and trees where still. He stood there, looking around himself. He then looked up at the now starless sky. Keeping his eyes up at the sky, he quietly walked into the cottage to meet the female traveler.  
  



	11. Chapter 11

***  
  
"My name is ZF." The purple haired girl said to DQ as Glyde silently walked inside. Stalkid was still sitting in the same chair he had been in for hours, but he was actually conversing with ZF. Jack was sitting on the floor, silently looking up at ZF as she spoke. Glyde walked past DQ with great caution and pulled a chair up next to ZF. DQ looked past ZF and said, "Aw, you think I'm still angry Glyde?" Glyde was silent. DQ weakly smiled. "I'm not the type who holds grudges. I just have a hot temper. That's all! So smile like you were earlier Glyde!" Glyde looked up at DQ, and smiled. DQ then commented, "Did anyone tell you that you have a nice smile Glyde? I mean...it's so... Comforting." Glyde's smile length increased and thanked her. ZF looked at Glyde and said, "Thank you for letting me come in and stay."  
"No problem..." Glyde murmured. DQ looked at Glyde again. "You ok?" Glyde nodded. "I'm fine." DQ stood up and walked up to Glyde. "You sure? You look kind of pale..." She then placed her hand on Glyde and thrusted it back. "YOUR COLD!" She yelped. DQ then backed far away from Glyde and gave him a frightened look. Glyde looked at her and said, "Yeah a cold breeze came in and-" DQ suddenly pulled out her dagger and screamed, "YOU ARE ONE OF THEM!" Jack and Stalkid leapt on to DQ before she could make her move on Glyde. She squirmed about underneath the two and screamed, "He's a part of 'The Dark'! Get off of me!" Jack then screeched, "Calm down DQ!  
"GET OFF!"  
"NO!"  
DQ continued to squirm about. "He's one of them! Just look at him! PALE! COLD! Just like them! He wants to finish the job for them that 'they' couldn't accomplish back at my Kingdom! He wants us dead!"  
Jack pulled out a flask of green liquid and forced DQ to drink some of it. Within seconds, she fell into a deep sleep. Jack and looked at the flask and said, "Works every time!" Stalkid got off of DQ as well as Jack did soon after. Stalkid tilted his head. "Tranquilizer?" He questioned. Jack shrugged. "Kinda I guess..." ZF looked down at DQ, terrified. "I'm not the only one who's seen them it seems..." She said. Stalkid, Glyde, and Jack look at ZF silently. She looked at the ground. "When I was walking through the field by myself towards this very forest... A man walked up to me. He wore a hooded cloak and his face was completely shadowed by the hood. He said something about me being different and such." She paused for a few seconds and then continued, "I tried to get away from him, but he just wouldn't give up. He wouldn't leave me alone. I finally asked who he was and he revealed himself and-"  
Stalkid interrupted, "Was his name DarkZero?"  
ZF nodded, "Yes..."  
"What happened after that?"  
"He wanted to fight me because I didn't want to join him. I told him he was crazy..."  
"Did you fight?"  
"Yes I did."  
Stalkid looked at her from head to toe. "Did he.... Injure you?"  
ZF nodded. "Yes he did, but the injuries were nothing. I treated them."  
Stalkid looked at her again. "I don't see scars or anything though..."  
ZF smiled. "That's because I have healing powers!"  
"Oooh..." Stalkid looked back down at DQ. "You'll have to excuse DQ... She's gone through a lot..." ZF looked down at DQ and asked, "What happened?"  
"Her Kingdom was destroyed by that army: 'The Dark'... Burnt down..." Jack then added, "Everyone of our kind has perished except for me and my sister here... We are the last surviving Dekus in this land now..." ZF covered her mouth. "Goodness... That man WAS telling me the truth! I thought he was just some weirdo who roamed the fields at night."  
"He's more then just a weirdo though..." Stalkid commented. Stalkid looked at Glyde who seemed to have gained his coloring back as well as his smile. He was sleeping soundly. Jack looked at his flask. "Hmm... I didn't give him any of this stuff..." He then noticed a dart in Glyde's right leg. Stalkid grinned and looked at his flute. "Heh. I made sure that we wouldn't have a lot of commotion going on... Otherwise he would be talking his head off!" ZF and Jack silently looked at Stalkid. He then nervously scratched his back and sat down. "Well, um, will DQ be ok?" Jack looked back down at DQ. "Yeah, she'll be ok. The stuff I gave her only puts things asleep. That's all."  
"No. I mean are there any side affects or whatever when DQ wakes up?"  
"No."  
"Ok. I was just wondering."  
"What about the dart on Glyde? Will that affect him in some other way?"  
"I hope not."  
"What do you mean by that?"  
"The darts after affects are unpredictable...."  
"Ook..."  
The two looked at each other for a while and then at ZF when she said, "Well, I'm getting tired now. I haven't slept in a few days so...." She stretches her arms out and yawns. She then continued to speak, "Good night...." She closed her eyes and her head drooped to the side and was soon in a deep sleep. Jack then stated, "Yeah... I'm kinda tired too Stalkid..." He then walked towards his sister and laid next to her. "Good night Stalkid.... Sleep well..." He closed his eyes and fell asleep. Stalkid sat in the chair quietly and stared at the fire in the fireplace. He then began to space out and fall into a world of total fantasy and dreams. His eyes began to feel heavy and tired as he stared. Soon after, he closed his eyes and fell a sleep like the others had.  
  



	12. Chapter 12

***  
  
ZF opened her eyes and saw herself in a completely different place. She quickly sat up and saw that she was sitting in a bed of flowers. As she looked around herself, she saw that she was in a green-grassed field that seemed to go on forever. She looked up at the ever-so-clear blue sky. She saw no birds or anything what so ever around her. She slowly got to her feet and began to walk through the field. A faint smile of joy came upon her face as she crossed the peaceful field. Then, in the distance, she spotted a group of statues forming a circle. Curiously, she approached the group of statues. When she reached the statues, she noticed that they all resembled to DQ's race and there was one in the center that looked like DQ. She approached the statue and looked at it for a while and saw that in the statue's hand was a medium sized red crystal. She turned and looked at the other statues.   
  
She then approached a different one. The next one she approached was as tall as she was and seemed rather discomforting to her. The statue was holding something that seemed like a hunting knife in the right hand and a gray, medium sized crystal in the other. Its clothes were ripped and its hair was messy. When ZF stared into its eyes, she felt a rush of fear run through her. A cold wind flowed past her that carried the sound of what seemed to be a maddening laughter. She slowly backed away from the statue and approached the next one. The other one appeared to be rather joyful and full of life. This one was wearing clown-like clothing and a jester's cap as well. It was smiling and had its arms raised up in the air. Like the other two statues, in one of the hands was another medium sized crystal, but it was yellow. ZF smiled at the statue and felt a warm breeze blow that carried the sent of honey. Smiling, she then walked away from the statue and looked at the next one to come. A feeling of awe came over ZF once she approached this statue. The statue bared wings that resembled to an angel's and it wore armor. Its wings were spread out, making the statue appear larger. The angelic statue held a decorative sword pointing upwards. ZF stood there with her mouth slightly open as she stared at the statue. She saw that this statue was holding a white crystal against its chest. A feeling of peace fell over ZF as she stood there and she could hear singing in the distance.  
  
Silently, she walks away from the statue, keeping her eyes on it. She took her eyes off the angelic statue once she arrived in front of the next. This statue was rather tall and intimidating. She looked up at the statue and saw that it was holding an extremely large axe over its shoulder. It wore animal skins as clothing and leather boots for shoes. Like the second statue she saw, it had messy hair. When she looked at the statue's face, it wasn't anything that ZF had expected to see from a large statue. Its face had a friendly look to it and had a faint smile as well. In it's left hand was yet another crystal that was the color of magenta. A feeling of power and fierceness flowed through ZF, and yet, she felt a touch of friendliness as well. She sighed and walked towards the next statue. This statue appeared to be mellow looking and wise. This statue wore a long robe that resembled to a wizard's and its hair, like DQ's, was neatly put back in a ponytail. It held a long decorative staff in its right hand and a blue crystal in the other. As ZF stared at the statue, a feeling of mellowness and wisdom surged through her. She tilts her head and walks to the last statue. This statue was the tallest of them all and was more frightening then the statue that was holding the hunting knife. This statue looked down at ZF with stretched bat-like wings with an evil gaze. It wore a gothic looking dress and held an enormous sword in its right hand. In its left was a black crystal. Its hair was the same as DQ's as well. The sky was then soon covered with gray clouds and a cold breeze blew by, carrying the sent of death. ZF gulped and quickly walked away from the statue back into the center. The clouds then suddenly withdrew, revealing the blue sky once again. ZF stared at the statue of DQ, and then scanned her eyes at the others. She noticed that they all look somewhat like DQ. She looks down at the stone ground and noticed a gold locket there. ZF kneels down to take the locket. Before she could even grab it, it disappears into the air. Confused and frightened, she jumped back up.  
  
She quickly looked at the statues again. She then heard the sound of breaking glass behind herself and she quickly faces in that direction from where the sound came from. She then saw a young Deku hugging a doll. The young Deku looked exactly like DQ in everyway. The Deku blankly stared at ZF. "Who...are... you," The child asked. The statues around themselves vanish as well as the field and the sky. "You...don't belong here..." The Deku said. ZF stood there looking at the child. "Go away..." The child said in a monotone voice. Suddenly, ZF was hit hard in the head and hit the ground with extreme force. Once she had hit the ground, she blacked out. She then heard these words, "Free us...." ZF then suddenly awakens and sees DQ standing in front of ZF. ZF sighed in relief and saw that it was still dark out. DQ then asked, "Were you dreaming or something?" ZF nodded. "Yeah, I was dreaming...(sigh)" DQ smiled, "Heh, you're good at making facile expressions in your sleep. Were you having a good dream or something?" ZF slowly shook her head in disagreement. "More like an-" She stared at DQ for a while and then continued, "-an interesting dream."   
"Oh...."  
DQ looked at Glyde and sighed. "I don't know what got into me when I tried to attack Glyde... It's not me to do such a thing like that." She sighs again and added, "I'll have to apologize to Glyde at day break." ZF quietly stared at DQ and began to think about the statues again. She shivered in fear as she thought about them. DQ then looked back at ZF and asked, "Are you cold?"   
"No, I'm not cold...I'm just thinking about something..." ZF replied. DQ then walked to her brother's side and laid next to him. "Well, I'm going back to sleep...you should sleep too ZF." ZF yawned and closed her eyes. Faintly, she said, "Good night DQ." DQ replied with a low moan. ZF smiled and soon fell back asleep. While the two were in a deep sleep, Jack shivered violently in his sleep and murmured, "Cold.... wind..."  
  



	13. Chapter 13

***  
  
Stalkid and Glyde were the first to awaken from their sleep and were out side on the porch. Stalkid had been viciously scrubbing his sword for two hours already and Glyde simply stared up at the slightly cloudy sky. A gentle breeze blew on to the side of Glyde. His brown hair flew in that direction as well, dancing about. Stalkid kept scrubbing away on his sword as he asked Glyde in a cheerful manner, "How are you today?" Glyde smiled and said, "Good... you seem to be in a wonderful mood as well today, eh Stalkid?" Stalkid nods and continued to clean his sword. Glyde just stood there, looking up at the sky silently, staring at the slow moving clouds. Jack then comes outside. Without saying good morning to either of them he walked out into the field and sat under a large tree, fiddling with a flower. Stalkid looked up at Jack for one second, then back down at his sword. Glyde didn't even seem to notice Jack since his eyes remained looking at the sky.  
Jack stared down at the yellow flower blankly and occasionally would sigh every so often. He did nothing more except stare at the flower. After ten minutes of blank staring, Jack dropped the flower. He looked in complete amazement as it floated to the grassy ground. He picked it up, and repeated the same sequence over and over. After ten minutes of dropping the flower, he picked it up and stared at it again blankly. A cold wind traveled by, causing Jack to shiver, but his expressions remained the same: blank. He then began to whisper silently as if he were talking to the flower. He clasped his other hand on top of the hand that was holding the flower and brought the flower closer to him. When he stopped whispering to himself, his head began to become cluttered with whispering voices. As the volume of the voices increased in his head, he began to twitch and his heart began to pound furiously in his chest. His eyes began to quiver and he tightened his grip around the flower. His dark brown coloring began to fade to a pale brown and he began to scream in pain. He fell to the floor, his hand grasping his chest.   
Glyde and Stalkid turn their heads quickly in the direction where Jack was screaming and the two ran to his side quickly. DQ and ZF ran out of the house with blankets wrapped around them selves towards Jack. Stalkid and Glyde stared at Jack, horrified. DQ pushed the two out of the way and knelt down next to Jack. "JACK?! WHATS WRONG?!" She screamed. He continued to scream and it seemed like he was pulling his chest, as if he were trying to pull his skin off. "JACK! STOP IT! DON'T!" Jack sudden froze and stopped screaming. He began to shiver violently and he said, "They.....got....me..." He repeated the statement over and over as DQ threw her blanket on Jack and carried him towards the house. Stalkid and Glyde were still horrified from the incident and stared at each other. ZF stood still and looked down at the flower that Jack was holding. It was burnt. ZF looked back up at DQ as she slowly entered the house, ZF tapped the two surprised youngsters and said, and "We should go inside to see how things are now"  
"Oh, erm, sure. Let's go Stalkid." Glyde said, quivering. Stalkid silently nodded his head and the three made there way back inside the house. They saw DQ sit with Jack in her arms. Jack was now asleep, still shivering. DQ stared down at her young brother, worried. "Jack... please... stay with me..." DQ sniffled. She hugged her brother close to her, hoping that the heat of her own body would halt his shivering. She then got up and walked into the bed room. She placed Jack in one of the beds and covered him with as many blankets she could find. It didn't help though; Jack was still shivering. DQ puts one hand on her chest and the other over her eyes. "Please Lord... save this child..." She outs her hands to her sides and she pulls up a chair next to Jack's bed. She sat down in the chair and remained silent, watching her brother as he slept and violently shivered.  
  
Stalkid, Glyde, and ZF looked at DQ from the hall way as she sat there, staring at her brother. They all walked away from the room and sat in the room they all had slept in. They all stood there, shocked from what had happened to Jack. They all remained silent and didn't talk for hours until they heard Jack screaming again. This continued hour after hour. Jack seemed to scream every other hour for the same length of time. They tried giving him remedies while he was awake and ZF tried curing him, but those attempts failed to work. ZF soon found that Jack was cursed with black magic. ZF had said that the only thing they could do now is to wait and see what happens to Jack. If he didn't get any better or if his condition worsened, she suggested that the best way to end his suffering and to prevent him becoming purely evil, he should be put out of his misery by death by DQ.   
  



	14. Chapter 14

***  
  
The days rolled by and Jack hadn't improved at all and DQ was falling into a state of denial. She had not left her brother's side since the first day he was cursed. Stalkid and the others didn't know what to do now at this point. Jack hadn't awakened for nearly a week and DQ never left the room. She hadn't eaten and she rarely fell asleep. DQ would also read Jack's favorite stories to him late at night though she knew that he couldn't hear her. Stalkid and the others were fearful of DQ's health and tried to make her sleep and eat. Every time though, she would say, "I can't leave Jack's side." or "He's more important then my well being at this point now." Everyone was totally depressed for weeks. The sky had been changing rapidly from its normal blue color to plain gray. A cold breeze was the only type of breeze that ever came along now.  
  
DQ's health diminished day after day and was becoming ill herself from refusing to eat or sleep. Though her condition worsened, she never left Jack's side. Eventually, she passed out and fell into a state of unconsciousness. ZF began to monitor Jack's health and saw that he was improving when he finally woke up. Slowly but surely, his coloring and his talkativeness began to return to him. A week after this, his health was restored to him and was no longer cursed. DQ was now the big concern. She was unconscious for a week and had been having what Glyde called "loud nightmares". When she eventually had awakened and saw that Jack's health had been miraculously restored, she herself began to restore her health.  
  
After a month of depression and hopelessness, everyone's individual spirits returned to them and everyone was no longer depressed. Jack began to work on a series of antidotes and potions to fend off any evil source. He had also found that the cold wind was the purpose of the curse. He said that it only affected him because he was younger and more frail then everyone. He then developed a potion that he would use if he were to venture outside the house. This potion had been proven to prevent him from becoming cursed again in the future. From how things had become over the past few days, things to these heroes looked good and they all were, again, in high spirits.  
  



	15. Chapter 15

***  
  
The first thing that happened the next morning was DQ angrily chasing Jack through the house because DQ had found that Jack had been using DQ's prized possessions as experimental objects and had destroyed half of them. As they were running out of the house into the field, Jack took a quick sip of his potion and he turned his head and yelled, "HEY, COOL OFF SIS'! YOU STILL GOT HALF OF YOUR STUFF! SEE, I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING TO YOUR BRACELET!" He pulled out her bracelet and presented to her as they continued to run. He then devilishly smiled and yelled, "YET!" He laughed gleefully and quickened his pace to keep away from his fast paced, enraged teenaged sister. "I'LL KILL YOU STUPID FOOL!" DQ fumed. Jack continued to laugh amusingly as he ran about with a bag full of DQ's belongings  
  
While the two were running about, Glyde, Stalkid, and ZF watched them. "Gosh..." Glyde said. "They have been running for an hour already non-stop. How long can Dekus run?" Stalkid smiled and thought about the time he was following Jack through the swamp and began running. "I have no idea, but something like this happened before when I was the one chasing Jack." He softly laughed and continued to watch the two run. Glyde looked back inside the house, which had been trashed by the two speedy Dekus, and stated, "I also never knew that these so-called 'peaceful' Dekus could be so destructive." Jack began running back towards the house again and DQ was hot on his heels. Jack dashed underneath ZF's legs, causing her to shriek. DQ then trampled over Stalkid after her brother. "YOU'RE DEAD MEAT!" She screeched. Glyde sighed. "Well, it looks like they want to destroy the house even more." He then folded his arms afterward. Stalkid, Glyde, and ZF remained outside, listening to the sounds of fragile objects breaking and the two screaming at each other.  
  
Glyde heard Jack running back out with his sister close behind. He sighed and grabbed Jack on his way out. "AHH! LET ME GO BEFORE I GET KILLED!" Jack screamed. DQ then tackled her brother and screamed, "WHERE DID YOU PUT THE REST OF MY STUFF?!" She then spotted her bracelet in Jack's hand and she snatched it away from him. Jack weakly smiled and said, "Hey, hey, don't worry! They're in-" DQ then snatched the bag that was strapped around Jack, opened it, and found her possessions that hadn't been destroyed yet. 'Dang it...' Jack thought. DQ glared at her devilish brother. "Do this again and I'll literally hurt you." Jack laughed and said, "Haven't you said that a million times in the past sis'?" DQ then angrily mashed her brother's face into a mud puddle and stomped her way back towards the house. "Would you mind helping me out with cleaning the house?" Glyde asked with a broom in hand. DQ bitterly replied, "NO!" and entered the house, slamming the door behind her. Glyde pulled his head back. "Fine..." He whispered. Jack continued to laugh despite the fact that his face had been mashed into a mud puddle. He got up and walked towards Stalkid and the others, laughing hysterically. Glyde smiled and said, "GEEZ! Go wash your face Jack! You look worse then swamp-thing right now!" Jack nodded and walked inside the house, still laughing.  
  
Stalkid smirked and looked at Glyde. "Don't see that much now these days."  
  
"Yeah..." Glyde agreed. "I just hope that this kind of stuff only happens outside from now on. I don't want the house look like a hazard area again." Glyde sighed and made his way back into the house and began to sweep up broken glass and spilt dirt in various areas of the house. Stalkid remained outside with ZF and looked up at the gray sky. ZF looked up as well, silently whispering to herself. "What's that you say, ZF?" Stalkid questioned. ZF shook her head and said, "N-nothing! I was... just talking to myself about something..." Stalkid nodded. "Yeah, I do that a lot too. I seem to think well if I just talk to myself. I don't know why, but I just do. Don't you agree?" ZF quickly nods in agreement and stood there quietly. 'That dream...' She thought. 'The circle of statues... and that child... what does it all mean?' ZF looked down and gently bites the tip of her finger and continued to wonder. 'Is this dream trying to say something... about DQ? Or could this be another one of my usual crazy dreams that deal with my weird imagination?' She sighed and looked up at Stalkid. "Stalkid..." She said.  
"Yeah ZF?" He responded.  
"Have you ever had a dream that... actually meant something?"   
"What are you talking about?"  
"Well, I mean, did any of your dreams give you like... a 'message' of some sort? Like a warning or an event that may happen?"  
  
Stalkid looked at ZF silently. "Why are you asking?" ZF glanced at the ground, then back up at Stalkid and answered, "I've been having these strange dreams ever since I came here." Stalkid sat down on a chair and asked, "What kind of strange dreams?" ZF got a chair and sat down across from Stalkid. She sighed, closing her eyes then reopening them, and then said, "The first dream I had started out with me laying in a flower bed. I woke up and saw that I was in a green field with the most beautiful sky I have ever seen. I stood up and I figured that I should take a look around. After walking a little ways, I see a circle of statues in the distance. I run over to the circle of statues and I see that all the statues were of DQ and Jack's race. A statue of DQ was in the very center of the circle, holding a red crystal in one of her hands. Each of the other statues was holding a crystal too, but the crystal that each of them had differed in color and structure. Each of the statues looked somewhat like DQ in some way, but then again, looked somewhat separate from her..." She paused for a moment and then Stalkid asked, "How did each of them look like?" ZF took a deep breath and continued. "Well, one of them looked like... a maniacal killer, the other looked like a clown, another looked like a barbarian, the next looked like a wizard, another looked like an arch-angel, and the last looked like a demon...."   
  
"Did you see anything else other then the statues and the crystals?" ZF slowly nodded and said, "I saw a golden locket on the ground after I looked at each of the statues. When I went to pick it up, it disappeared. I look back up at the statues, fearing that something may happen. I suddenly hear the sound of breaking glass behind me and I turn around to see a young child that looked... identical to DQ. She was holding a doll and was giving me a blank stare. The surrounding area around us began to disappear and she told me that I 'don't belong here' and that I should 'go away'. Before I could say anything to her, I was hit over the head with extreme force by something. I then heard a group of people say 'free us'.... And then I woke up." Stalkid stared at ZF, confused. ZF then looked down at the ground and said, "It could just be another one of my wild dreams that I always have, but, I'm not sure about this one... I have a feeling that it means something... the statues and the child must symbolize something and-" Stalkid interrupted her with hysterical laughter. When he softened his laughter, her looked at ZF and commented, "I'm sorry, but, that dream seems so whimsical and all! I can't really imagine a dream like that symbolize something in DQ or what ever! I mean, DQ is just a normal Deku! Not some kind of important person! I mean, she is important as a friend, but not as a... um... you know...err... never mind..." ZF looked down and said, "I still believe that this dream may mean something about DQ and I'm going to see what it may mean." She stood up and made her way back inside the house.   
  
ZF found DQ sitting in a chair and looking through the bag, taking out all of her belongings and placing them beside her. ZF sweetly smiles and chimed, "Hello DQ!" DQ looked up and replied, "Oh.... uh ....hi." ZF silently watched DQ and looked at her belongings, which was a heap of jewelry. "Those are pretty..." ZF commented. DQ weakly smiled and said, "Thank you." ZF looked at DQ as she dug her way through the bag and put her jewelry next to her quickly. ZF patted her knees and looked about the ravaged house. DQ then chuckled, "This is what happens when you have a little brother that is related to the devil!" ZF weakly laughs and looked back at DQ. "So...how did you end up here with the rest? Did you just kinda bump into them?" DQ stopped removing her jewelry from the bag and sat back. She then releases a deep sigh. "Uh... I shouldn't have asked... it looks like..." ZF stood up. "I'm sorry that I di-"   
  
DQ interrupted, "No no... its ok... I'll tell you the whole story. Sit down." ZF got a chair and sat next to DQ. "I heard something about your home being burnt down and all... and that that army 'The Dark' was responsible for it. Stalkid told me that part of the story, but how did you meet Stalkid and Glyde?"  
  
"Well..." DQ began. "Before that whole incident, Jack brought Stalkid to our village because Stalkid saved my brother's live in the market place in front of the swamp. He felt that Stalkid was a trust worthy person, which he is, so he brought him down into the swamp. Though when he got there, one of my... guards attacked him and was about to kill Stalkid. It was a good thing that Jack was there and I got there in time before Rollo could pull another move on Stalkid."  
  
"Who's Rollo?" ZF asked. DQ looked about the room and then answered, "He was the leader of my army... he also... was a dear friend of mine..." She looked down at the ground, "I banished him from my Kingdom after what he had done... He was extremely angry at me for the decision I made upon him and had wished for my down fall to come... he left soon after he said that." ZF looked at DQ for a while then asked, "But, isn't hard to do such a thing to your friend? I mean, you banished him... didn't you feel some regret?" DQ nodded in agreement. "I did... he was my best friend ever since me and him were very young..." She sighed. ZF then asked, "What happened to him?" DQ wiped her eyes, "He was over taken by DarkZero with the use of black magic and Rollo had become a slave... like the rest of DarkZero's army... after he returned with DarkZero and the army, 'The Dark', I was forced to fight Rollo..." DQ wiped her eyes again, "I killed Rollo... but, in a way, I'm glad I had done that... I saved him... or so he said... he told me, with his dieing breath, to kill DarkZero and Kalinia so that the people that had been killed and the ones who are under their control can be freed from their grip..." DQ looked up at ZF, her eyes watering, "Rollo had also said something about me... but... he never got to finish what he was about to say to me...." DQ's expressions then changed from sad to angry. "I was so enraged at DarkZero... I couldn't control myself and I flew into a frenzy and I attacked him, injuring him...." DQ trailed off with the things she had done to DarkZero under her breath, then finally said in a louder voice, "Before I could finish off the demon, Kalinia appeared out of no where in the air and lifted me up into the air. I tried to fight back... but it was no use... She was about to kill me right there... until some unknown person came in and saved me. Kalinia, DarkZero, and the army disappeared. Stalkid was already knocked out and I was about to fall into that kind of state any second. The man who saved me walked up to me... but I couldn't make out what he was saying and his face was blurred. I then black out and awaken to find myself here with Glyde..."   
  
DQ looked back inside the bag and reached her hand inside, pulling out an earring. "That's how I got here... I can't believe that I'm still alive after all of that too..." She sighed and placed the earring next to her and began to pull out her jewelry one by one again. ZF then silently got to her feet and stated, "I think we should help out Glyde with the house..." DQ looked around and weakly smiled, "Yeah... and I should apologize for what I said to him too." DQ quickly threw her jewelry back inside the bag and hid the bag behind the futon in the room. "Ok... let's go and help him out." DQ suggested. The two left the room and made their way to where Glyde was sweeping up broken glass. After they had left, Jack jumped out of the kitchen cabinet where he had been hiding. Snickering, he walked behind the futon and snatched the bag.  
  



	16. Chapter 16

***  
  
The wind continued to grow cooler and dense with the evil that the army had been spreading in its path. Weak minded people in the towns became affected by the wind's evil affect, mostly children. Those who were affected by the wind's new dark power it has come to inhabit either went mad or died within days of exposer. Kalinia was enjoying every second of this as she watched this plague spread and attack the hapless citizens of each town her army had come into contact with. With every step forth her army made cause the sky to only darken and the land die beneath their feet. Town after town, city after city, Kingdom after Kingdom, her power grew and the army's numbers increased.  
  
Kalinia knew that the group of youngsters that she had encountered was more than just brave and heroic, they posed a dangerous threat to her efforts in her goal. She knew that if she didn't kill them quickly, they would be a problem in the future. She knew that they had the capability of stopping her... that is IF they find their power. Kalinia had plans to destroy them... one by one. She wanted them to suffer by killing off their friends and make them go through a stage of sadness and anger. The first that was to go was Jack, but unfortunately, her efforts failed and Jack managed to survive her curse. The curse, for some reason, didn't affect the others as much. Little or no changes were present in the others. It had almost gotten to Glyde the night he was staring at the sky, but shook off the curse in his sleep. DQ showed signs of increased aggressiveness; Kalinia thought she had gotten to DQ, until Kalinia eventually found that DQ was calming down a bit due to ZF.  
  
Kalinia was becoming nervous and she had to come up with another plan to rid the heroes' existence. She knew that the only way to kill them was in battle. Though, for some reason, she wanted DQ's beloved brother to die first. DarkZero had questioned why she didn't want to kill Stalkid or any of the others first. Kalinia, grimly smiling, answered DarkZero with this answer, "Progress would be so much better if we had another powerful ally. To get the powerful, we must destroy its one true love in order for us to gain it. Jack must die first. Otherwise, we will never get to the powerful being."  
  



	17. Chapter 17

***  
  
Glyde looked back at the old house as he strapped his bag on to his shoulder. He took a long look at the house in which he was about to leave in the forest... for good. "COME ON GLYDE!" ZF yelled. "LETS GET GOING!" Glyde sighed and turned his back on the house and walked sluggishly towards his friends. ZF was in a rather jolly mood despite the fact that the sky was gray and it was cold out. DQ had been looking at her Bladed Staff while Jack was fiddling with some metal materials in his hands (which would be parts of DQ's belongings). Stalkid looked up at the towering trees ahead of them and thought about his home as he stared up at them. "I sometimes miss my home." He said to ZF. ZF turned around and looked up at the trees with Stalkid. "You lived in the forest?" Stalkid nodded and continued to stare at the tall trees. "I came from the land of Hyrule originally, but then I came across this land and-"ZF then finished his statement with,"--Decided that it would be interesting to travel through?" Stalkid looked at ZF, squinting his eyes. "Yeah... I guess you can say that..." Glyde finally arrived, saying, "Are you sure we should leave man?" Stalkid nodded, "Yeah. We gotta keep moving. Staying in one spot is just a bad idea, especially with that army walking around." Glyde looked back at the house once more. "I'm gonna miss my home." He stated. Jack walked up to Glyde and said, "Well.... Um... You know that saying ... uh... You gotta keep moving on... or something." DQ whacked her brother over the head and muttered, "Stupid..."  
  
"I 'am NOT!" Jack yelled, rubbing the back of his head. DQ smiled and said, "You know I'm joking! Geez..." Jack glared at his sister. "Well... ah... well... j-just... DON'T HIT ME AGAIN!" DQ lightly laughed and patted Jack on the head. Jack then started to throw a fit. "DON'T DO THAT! I HATE IT!" Stalkid rolled his eyes and ZF suggested, "Ok, why don't we all stop acting like five year olds for now until we find a place to rest? We need to get moving!" Moments after, they began to walk towards the forest. The forest was dense and the trees practically didn't allow any sunlight to shine through. Though no sunlight came through the trees, everyone was able to see perfectly. Glyde then beckoned his friends to follow him. "Follow me! I know my way through the forest to the field. Hurry now!" Glyde then sprinted off. "Oh no...." Stalkid moaned. DQ and Jack zipped past ZF and Stalkid to follow Glyde. ZF then ran to catch up. Stalkid felt obligated to run after them, so he then began to run as well with the heavy luggage on his back. Glyde smiled brightly. "Heh, I'm so fa-" DQ and Jack were at his sides and they both screamed, "NO YOU'RE NOT!" Glyde weakly laughed and continued to run. ZF was close behind while Stalkid struggled because of the heavy luggage on his back.   
  
Glyde, DQ, and Jack stopped in front of the exit of the forest and waited for ZF and Stalkid. "WHY DO YOU HAVE TO RUN SO FAST?!" ZF yelled as she approached them quickly. She came to a stop, bending her knees and resting her hands on them. "I can't run too fast! Besides, Stalkid has lots of weight on his back!" Glyde smiled and scratched the back of his head. "Oops..." He weakly laughed afterwards. Stalkid then came in to view, dragging his feet. Glyde cuffed his hands around his mouth and screamed, "COME ON SLOW POKE! LETS GET MOVING!" Stalkid then screamed back, "I CAN TAKE AS LONG AS I WANT!" Glyde smiled and began to walk towards Stalkid. "Why don't cha take off your luggage and I'll-" Suddenly, an arrow flies out of the bushes and hits Glyde in the shoulder. Glyde screamed in pain and fell to his knees. Stalkid, ZF, DQ, and Jack all screamed, "GLYDE!" and ran to his side. Glyde gripped his shoulder, wincing. "Are you ok?!" Stalkid asked. Glyde then screamed, "GOD! Why is it always me?!" Suddenly, a voice echoes, "I finally found you all!" DQ's heart began to beat faster, for that this voice sounded too familiar to her. "Kalinia..." She whispered.   
  
The evil sorceress appeared in front of the bewildered heroes and smiled. "I have come to finish something that hasn't." She looked at DQ and Jack. DQ then pulled out her weapon. She then rage fully screamed, "I'll kill you for what you have done to my people and my kingdom!" Kalinia folded her arms and chuckled. "Such anger you have DQ. I heard that you have a problem controlling it as well." Her eyes traveled to Jack. "I wonder what would happen if I were to do some thing extreme..." Jack ran behind DQ's back, shivering. "DON'T EVEN TOUCH HIM!" DQ screamed. "THIS IS BETWEEN THE TWO OF US!" Kalinia released an evil laugh and stated, "Do you actually think that you could possibly win in a battle against me?! Humph, a low level creature such as yourself could not even scratch me!" Some force suddenly threw Stalkid, ZF, Jack, and Glyde back while DQ remained in the same spot. "But if you insist..." Kalinia's eyes turn red and a circle of flames rouse up. "Come and get me..." DQ leapt at Kalinia, screaming like a savage. Kalinia stopped DQ in the air.  
  
Surprised and frightened, DQ struggled. DQ's widen and she began to choke in mid-air. She grabbed her neck immediately and started to kick. Jack then screamed, "NO! STOP IT!" He then threw a flask at Kalinia. The flask then broke, releasing it contents inside. Kalinia began to scream as her skin began to boil in the area that was affected. Because of this, DQ was saved and she fell to the ground, gasping for air. Kalinia then glared at Jack. "FILTHY CREATURE!" She screamed. DQ quickly jumps up and manages to cut Kalinia's arm. Kalinia yelped in pain and punches DQ back. Kalinia then brought Jack into the ring of fire. Bewildered, Jack looked around himself. Kalinia grabs the young Deku and raises him into the air. DQ looks up, her eyes filled with fright. "NOOOOOO!!!" It was too late for DQ to save her hapless brother from the clutches of Kalinia. Kalinia smiled amusingly and said, "It's over for you, low leveled one." Jack weakly smiled back and replied, "It'll be over for you soon..." Kalinia shoved a sword into Jack's stomach, impaling him completely. He coughed a couple times, then died. DQ stood there, shocked.  
  
Kalinia then threw Jack's lifeless body from the sword and sheaths the sword. DQ looked down at her dead brother blankly. Kalinia then said, "It's your turn now..." and she began to gather a large ball of energy. "Worthless, low-leveled creature..." She then afterwards threw the ball of energy at DQ. DQ couldn't react, and was hit by the ball. She toppled over as soon as she was hit by the ball and remained still on the ground. Kalinia devilishly chuckled as Stalkid and the others were frozen in fear. The circle of fire disappeared and Kalinia glared at the others. "You're next." She floated towards Glyde and lifted him up. Though, before she could harm Glyde anymore, she heard someone say from behind her, "We.....are....not.....finished..." She turns around to see DQ standing, but saw that DQ's eyes were glowing a deep red and dark energy was emitting from her body. "What the?" Kalinia gasped. She released Glyde and stared at DQ. "I'll show.....you whose....the low leveled one!" DQ screamed. Flames again rouse up from the ground, circling everyone.  
  
DQ began to scream in pain. Before everyone's eyes, DQ began to change. Large bat-like wings sprung out of her back and her skin changed to a gray color. Her clothing changed to a black and gray dress and her green hair became black as well. Her Bladed Staff changed into a large, powerful sword that emitted dark power. She stopped screaming and then stood straight up, glaring. She spread out her wings. ZF looked at DQ fearfully. "The dream...." She whispered. "That statue!" The evil looking DQ then said, "Finally... I have been freed to torture and plague all." She narrowed her eyes at Kalinia. "And you..." She whispered. The demon-like DQ suddenly appears in front of Kalinia. "I must reward you for doing me such a favor." Kalinia relaxed a bit. "Reward?" The demon smiled and nodded her head. "Yes..." The demon then grabbed Kalinia at the neck and began to choke her. "But you are so naughty... Killing DQ's brother was a no-no. I think I will reward you with this!" The demon tightened her grip and Kalinia's legs began to tremble. The demon smiled amusingly. "What's wrong? You are not so big and tough like you were with DQ and the others... COME ON! SHOW ME WHAT YOU GOT!" The evil creature continued to tighten her grip and Kalinia trembles from its' power. Kalinia finally freed herself by stabbing the demon with her sword.  
  
Kalinia fell to the ground, coughing. The demon looked down at her wound and dipped her finger on its surface to see that she was bleeding. She tilted her head as she looked at her bloody finger. She rubbed the blood with her thumb and index finger and began to laugh. "YOU CALL THAT EFFORT?!" She then unsheathed her massive sword as she loomed over Kalinia. The demon grimly smiles and says, "Weak... absolutely weak of you to try to kill me with a powerless sword like yours. It may have worked on other weak subjects, but did it work on me? Heh, no. That's because you didn't know any better and assumed me of being a weakling... like you are." The demon ran the edge of her sword across Kalinia's pale arms. "And like you said to DQ..." She smiled, "Low-Leveled creatures are to be erased from this very world..." Kalinia looks up at Rayial weakly. "Good-bye... low-leveled human..." Without any hesitation, the demon impaled Kalinia. The sword began to emit a purple colored mist as Kalinia's body began to wither. She lets out a raspy cry before her body reduces to a skeletal form.  
  
The demon kicks the body, causing parts of it to explode into dust while some areas remained intact. Rayial then turns towards Stalkid, ZF, and Glyde. Stalkid had his hand on his sword, readying himself for an unexpected attack from this evil force. "Stay away..." Stalkid warned, "Or I'll be compelled to fight you." The demon laughed at the remark. "And turn out like this fool here?" The demon points at Kalinia's remains with her sword, smiling. Stalkid stared at the demon and asked, "Who are you?" The demon smiled. "Liked my entrance back there eh?" Stalkid narrowed his eyes. "You... came out of DQ... How is that possible?" The demon slowly walked towards Stalkid. "Lets just say that I'm a part of DQ. I 'am closely connected with her. If she bleeds, I bleed. If she dies, I die." Stalkid looked at the evil creature questionably. The demon spreads her wings out. "I 'am one of DQ's... how do you say... 'Split Personalities.'" Stalkid's eyes widen. "WHAT?" She then stops in front of Stalkid. "You heard me correctly..." Stalkid stared at her for a while. "Exactly.... WHO are you?" She looked into Stalkid's eyes disgustingly. Her eyes burned into Stalkid's, making him feel uncomfortable; She knew it was bothering him and continued to stare into his eyes. "Names are not that important.... but if you insist...." She paused for a while and then answered, "EDQ...." Stalkid looked at her strangely and backed away. "Now that I had warmed-up my sword's power..." She raises her sword and points it at Stalkid. "I think that it's time to try it out on a more competitive fighter like yourself." Her eyes flickered red and added, "Are you up to the challenge? Or would you prefer to die without resistance?" Stalkid quickly unsheathes his sword. "I 'am up to any challenge! Especially against those who possess evil within their soul!" EDQ smiles and unexpectedly attacks. Stalkid quickly blocks the upper sword swing with his massive sword. EDQ pushed down on Stalkid's sword with all her physical power. Stalkid's legs began to shake as he used all his effort to push back. He then kicks EDQ back into a nearby tree. Stalkid swung his sword downward, hoping that it would strike her. EDQ, noticing the sword, quickly moves to the side and injures Stalkid's shoulder with her sword. Stalkid screamed as he felt his shoulder burn from the sword's power and injured EDQ in return.  
  
EDQ jumps back and stares at Stalkid for a long while as she covered her fresh wound across her chest. "You seem to possess power..." She stated. "Heh! I underestimated you greatly." Stalkid then noticed that her body began to glow a deep purple color and he began to stagger backwards. EDQ's eyes glew red and she yelled, "BUT CAN YOU HANDLE THIS?!" EDQ suddenly fired a black beam from her hands in the direction of where Stalkid stood. Gasping, he jumped to the side as the beam burned through a gigantic boulder. EDQ glared at Stalkid, angry that he had dodged her attack. She rushed at Stalkid with her sword up raised in the air above her head. Forcefully, she attempted to slice Stalkid in the head, but yet again found that Stalkid effortlessly dodged her attack. Angry, Stalkid began to attack EDQ with successful and powerful blows with his sword. After a series of continuous attacks, Stalkid finally halted them and jumped back. EDQ stood there, covering a few of the many wounds on her body. Finally, she fell to the ground and remained on the ground motionless. Stalkid stared at her and sheathed his sword. He cautiously approached EDQ, when suddenly she began to change. Bewildered, Stalkid jumped back and watched as EDQ became DQ.   
  
Stalkid's eyes opened wide and said, "Oh my gosh..." as he looked down at his severely injured friend. ZF ran to DQ's side while Glyde walked quickly behind ZF, covering his shoulder where the arrow had hit him earlier. Stalkid, with shaking hands, nudged DQ. "DQ?! Please! Wake up!" DQ made neither sound nor any movement. ZF then knelt down and put her hand on DQ's forehead. She looked up at the two and said, "She's alive, but if I don't do anything now, she will surely pass away." Stalkid then threw his arms up in the air and yelled, "WELL, WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?! HELP HER!" ZF reached into her pocket. "Ok, ok. Don't have a heart attack now." She pulled out a green emerald from her pocket and grasped it with both of her hands, holding it against her chest. She then took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Green beams of light shot out of the openings through her fingers and it made a high-pitched sound as it glew brilliantly. She opens her eyes, which now glew green as well. She reaches out, touches DQ, and her wounds almost immediately closed leaving no scars apparent. ZF's eyes then returned to its normal look and she placed the emerald on a neck lance chain, rather then putting it back into her pocket, she places the emerald about her neck.  
  
DQ remained still though. Stalkid nudges her again. She snores in response of him doing that. ZF smiles, "Sometimes the spell does that... Makes people sleepy and all." She then looks up at Jack, who lie dead a few feet away from them. Her smile faded and she whispered, "Oh no..." Stalkid looked up as well as Glyde did. ZF walked over to Jack's side and looked down at him. "Goodness..." ZF whispered. "Why did this have to happen?" The wind blew by and it seemed to carry something in it: whispers. "It's what you call destiny and fate young mortal...." ZF lashed her head around herself. She then stood still, raised one eyebrow, and thought, 'My imagination....' She looked back down at Jack. "I'm sorry DQ... I should have done something... but that form... It came so fast." She whispered to herself. "If only I had jumped in earlier..."  
  



	18. Chapter 18

***  
  
Stalkid, Glyde, and ZF gave Jack a proper burial short after the shocking incident and found a place outside the forest to rest for the night. DQ hadn't awakened since that incident and remained asleep. Stalkid, Glyde, and ZF had decided to treat DQ the best they could to keep her happy and in high spirits once she has awakened. The evil creature that ZF saw remained in her mind as a haunting memory. She then began to think about the recent dream she had with the statues, wondering if the other statues could be something like EDQ. She had a feeling that the other statues may emerge like EDQ had.   
  
DQ had awakened soon after ZF had finished her thoughts. DQ wept uncontrollably over the death of her loving brother, blaming herself for the reason why he died. She had become rather anti-social and stayed away from her friends as if she had no idea who they were. She acted like they were complete strangers. ZF decided that the best way to stop this is to speak with DQ and straighten her thoughts. Stalkid and Glyde hoped that this would work on their friend so that they could actually speak with her again instead of being ignored completely.  
  
ZF felt completely disappointed, for that her efforts didn't help. DQ still refused to speak or listen to the group. The thought of her dead brother plagued her immensely. Stalkid then soon found one morning that DQ had left them. They decided that if DQ preferred to be alone, they would leave her alone. They continued to walk through the fields without DQ. ZF felt as if she had failed and felt as if a heavy burden was being carried over her shoulders. She knew that DQ was the type to become quick friends with anyone, but... ZF never achieved that. Everyone just continued to walk through the field as if they had forgotten about their friend... Until one day they saw her again.  
  
This time, DQ was no longer mourning over the loss of her brother. Instead, she had thoughts of something else... She was determined to stop the army and save the millions of souls that have been wandering the land restlessly... The others had agreed upon the decision and decided to not run away from the army... but challenge it if it were to come across there path in the fields, towns, etc. DQ still has no idea about her 'other selves' existing... Stalkid has yet to find out what he really is... Glyde hasn't used his inner strength in years and has forgotten them... ZF hasn't found out the true meaning of her existence and why she is extremely important in 'stabilizing' DQ's constantly changing personalities... and they haven't found the one from the distant heavens...  
  



End file.
